IO Interactive has launched The Host, a new Elusive Target mission in HITMAN World of Assassination starring YouTube creator Seán McLoughlin, better known as Jacksepticeye, which is free to play from October 29th until November 25th.
According to a release, the mission is available to owners of the game and through its Free Demo. It runs on PlayStation 5 (PS5), PS4, PlayStation VR2, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, ROG Xbox Ally X, ROG Xbox Ally, PC, PC VR, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, iPhone, iPad and Apple silicon Macs. On both Switch consoles it requires the full game. IO Interactive also released a launch trailer for the mission.
Elusive Targets are limited-time missions built around a single target. They are only available for a set window, and players get one attempt at each.
McLoughlin provides both the likeness and the voice for the mission's target. “I've been playing HITMAN with my community for years, so getting to actually step into the World of Assassination is unreal. Finn is loud, paranoid, and completely obsessed with content, and playing him was an absolute blast,” he said.
Who is The Host?
McLoughlin plays Finn Colton, a wealthy and controversial content creator who goes by the handle Finnvictus. The former children's television star is criticized for exploitative contracts with his staff. Agent 47's client is a relative of a creator who disappeared after signing one, and the evidence points to Colton.
Colton spends most of his time at a remote content complex in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand, where cameras livestream his life around the clock. 47 gets inside as a guest on the Finn and Friends podcast, posing as ‘thought leader’ Tobias Rieper. Players need access to the Hawke's Bay location to play the mission. IO Interactive describes the story as ‘a darkly comic exploration’ of Colton's content empire.
Season of The Host roadmap
The mission opens the Season of The Host, a new content roadmap that is free for HITMAN World of Assassination players. It includes The Host Assignment, a Special Assignment with five challenges featuring Colton, and a new challenge called ‘Like Mist’ that rewards The Vampire Magician Suit.
Three Elusive Targets also return: The Pharmacist in Paris, The Warlord in Bangkok and The Entertainer in Marrakesh. A Twitch Drop offers the Royal Purple Banana, while players who play The Host with an IOI Account unlock The Hijacker Duck. A new batch of Featured Contracts rounds out the season.
The Host Pack
A themed downloadable content (DLC) pack, The Host Pack, is out from October 29th on all platforms for $7.99 (€7.99 or £6.99). It arrives on Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 on November 10th, the release says. The pack gives permanent access to The Collab, an Arcade contract built around The Host, and to The Host Assignment. It also adds the following items:
- The Thought Leader Suit with Gloves
- The Persona ‘Suit’
- Demon Dakota 12G
- DXTR PlayFactory Controller
- Creator Soundboard
- Kwineeny Collectible
About HITMAN World of Assassination and IO Interactive
HITMAN World of Assassination combines HITMAN, HITMAN 2 and HITMAN 3 in one package, along with Contracts mode, Escalations, Elusive Target Arcades and live content. It also includes Freelancer mode, which the release describes as mixing ‘rogue-like elements’ with strategic planning. More on the game is on its official website.
IO Interactive is an independent developer and publisher with studios in Copenhagen, Malmö, Barcelona and Brighton. Besides the HITMAN series, whose 2012 entry Hitman: Absolution is getting a physical Switch 2 edition, the studio released the James Bond origin story 007 First Light. It is now developing a new IP under the codename Project Fantasy.
The following was sent as a press release to Inven Global.
