Hitman 2, the much-anticipated sequel to the stealth video game Hitman 1, comes out on November 13, 2018. One of its new features is a “hyper-detailed sandbox,” where rather than players following a standard linear path through the game, they will get an open sandbox in which to explore and expand their characters and scenarios in a much freer way.

“The game adapts, because we have to foresee all these different permutations of play,” said Jacob Mikkelsen (pictured), game director at IO-Interactive A/S. “So there’s a lot of things you can do in the game in terms of which way you take and how you get there.”

To discuss the upcoming release of Hitman 2 and the game’s evolving technology, Mikkelsen spoke with Jeff Frick (@JeffFrick), host of theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s mobile livestreaming studio, during the E3 event in Los Angeles. They also spoke about what qualities make video games fun and some new features IO has built into Hitman 2. (* Disclosure below.)

Building new challenges

As gaming moved off consoles and into the connected world, more opportunities were created for developers to make play exciting for users. While the overall main arc and storyline are set in Hitman 2, there are many different options for players to move through the levels, according to Mikkelsen. The game will feature six missions in six different geographical locations.

“But in the end, the crazy thing is, no matter how hard we make it or how challenging we make it, [players] will always find crazy ways of bypassing the systems and bending the rules of the game so much,” Mikkelsen said.

What makes Hitman so popular? It enables its players a wide array of choices in characters and scenarios, according to Mikkelsen.

In addition to retaining the popular “disguises” mode, there will be a new co-op mode where players can snipe alongside a friend right in the mission, potentially creating all sorts of havoc. This new mode is still deeply founded in the roots of the Hitman game, where it’s all about getting away with the sniping without anyone noticing that you’re there.

“In [Hitman 1], we actually managed to go through the main story with some characters left alive, which is good. Because now in Hitman 2, we’re going to get closer to them. The story evolves around Agent 47, and we get a glimpse into his past, which is a bit of some things we haven’t told yet,” Mikkelsen concluded.

Watch the complete video interview below, and be sure to check out more of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the E3 event. (* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for E3 2018. Neither Western Digital Corp., the event sponsor, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE