Hitman 2 pre-order customers can play the game early, but only by purchasing the Gold Edition.
Hitman 2 officially launches on November 13. However, if you happen to pre-order the Gold Edition or Collector’s Edition, the release date is moved forward to November 9.
And according to a new Reddit post by Hitman 2 developer IO Interactive, the game has a 6pm GMT launch time in the UK.
“The current info I have is that Gold Edition access will be available on Steam starting at 10am PST/7pm CET on November 9th,” the post reads.
“It’s at that same time that the game can begin downloading. The regular version will have the same times but on November 13th.”
It’s unclear if this time applies to the PS4 and Xbox One versions of the game. The Xbox store suggests the game will unlock at midnight on November 9. Express Online has contacted the studio for clarification.
Digital pre-order customers are also unable to pre-load Hitman 2 ahead of its November 9 release date.
As a reminder, the Gold Edition contains the core game, the Sniper Assassin mode, the Executive DLC pack, two future expansions and early access.
It costs £79.99 on the Xbox Store and PSN, compared to £54.99 for the Standard Edition.
As the Hitman 2 release date closes in, review scores have started to appear online.
Most reviewers appear to agree that this feels more like an expansion to the previous Hitman game rather than a full-blown sequel.
IGN – 7.7/10: “Hitman 2 doesn’t add much of note to the structure of its predecessor and thus feels more like Hitman 1.5 than a full-blown sequel. But that’s not a bad thing. By offering more of the deepest, fullest stealth sandboxes in gaming in one single package rather than six episodic ones, it earns its keep.
“The inclusion of Hitman (2016) is a bonus for those that didn’t catch the reboot initially. Here’s hoping they put more effort into the plot next time.”
Gamespot 8/10: “Hitman is about experiencing the anticipation of seeing whether a plan will work when you try it for the first time.
“It’s about feeling the tension of briskly walking away from a bad situation, hoping you can lose the suspicious guards.
“It’s the satisfaction of knowing the machinations of a level so well that when a target moves into a particular place at a particular time, you have the perfect way to intervene. Hitman 2 is a familiar experience, but in the Hitman world, familiarity is an incredible strength.”