Hitman's live events include new modes, limited time challenges

After it launches the first of its installments this spring, Hitman will receive a variety of real-time modes and challenges as part of its previously announced "live component." A member of developer IO Interactive detailed the game's real-time content on its Steam community forum, going in-depth on Hitman's live features.

Elusive Targets will be added to the game on a rotating basis and for a limited-time, according to the post. These are custom characters who appear in various locations in the game, ones whom players have a single chance to eliminate. A briefing video explains who and where these characters are and why the player has to take them out, but once Agent 47 heads to that location, he'll have to reply on clues to actually find the target.

Killing the wrong person leads to game over, and players are rewarded for successfully completing several of these Elusive Target quests with new suits based on previous Hitman games.

Also new is Escalation Mode, which comprises stage-based challenges. These require the player to fulfill contracts with increasingly specific requirements, like time limits or taking someone out while wearing a certain costume, the IO staffer wrote. Escalation Mode missions are replayable and scores are collected on a leaderboard.

Contracts Mode will return to the new Hitman, having previously been included in Hitman: Absolution. Players can set up their own missions with custom marks to take out and conditions under which others must do so. IO will feature the most popular of these player-created contracts on a regular basis.

The developer also hopes to include live challenges, to be based on how the community is playing the game. The post references a Twitch stream of the recently launched Hitman beta in which a player completed a stage using only hammers. "At this stage, Community-inspired challenges (or whatever we actually decide to name them) are just one of the ideas we are working on to keep the game fresh and live as we go through the season," the developer wrote. This feature is currently being tested.

Much of this content will be made available in-between Hitman's episodic releases. Unlike previous entries in the series, the new Hitman will launch digitally with one location, Paris, on March 11. Future releases will bring additional countries to explore, with the game to be released in full by the end of 2016. The other locations will cost $10 but the game can be purchased in full upfront for $60; a retail release for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will arrive once Hitman is available in full later this year.

Check out a mission from the Hitman beta below.