First artwork for next Hitman game revealed, won't be shown at E3

Developer IO Interactive shared the first piece of concept art for the next title in the Hitman franchise this morning, as well as a note on the game's progress in another open letter to the series' fans.

The concept art, shown above, features what appears to be Agent 47 in the foreground on the bottom left, with a large gated building in the background of a muggy landscape. The post notes this location is in Central Europe and the building in the background is "larger than any location in Hitman: Absolution," the previous Hitman game. Players will be able to fully explore this building inside and outside, according to the post.

The team is currently making "great progress" building "exotic and expansion locations" for the title, the posts says. However, IO feels it needs more time to develop the game, and the studio will not be showing the next Hitman at E3 next month.

"We know the worst thing is to hope for something that doesn’t turn up; so we wanted to let you know that our next Hitman is going to be under wraps for a bit longer," the post reads. "We’re focusing all of our time and efforts into creating the best possible Hitman game. That’s our number one priority and we don’t want to divert valuable resources to show something before it’s ready."

IO notes it will share more details when the studio feels it is ready, likely later this year. Meanwhile the post states that developer Square Enix Montreal will soon be sharing details on updates to mobile title Hitman Go as well as more information on the next Hitman title for tablets and smartphones.

In an open letter to fans posted in January, IO stated that the next Hitman game would feature "a globetrotting Agent 47 at the prime of his career," as well as Contracts, a more open design and the largest explorable levels in the franchise.