Hitman's Ghost Mode Is Being Turned Off Permanently Soon

IO Interactive has confirmed as part of a list of game modes for the upcoming Hitman 3 that Ghost Mode will no longer be making a return, and will be turned off permanently in Hitman 2 later this month.

The mode is a 1v1 competitive multiplayer feature which sees two players race to eliminate the same target, but IO says it wants to focus on other areas of the game moving forward, and is therefore scrapping it:

"1v1 competitive multiplayer came to the Hitman franchise for the first time with Ghost Mode. With our focus currently on other areas of the World of Assassination, Ghost Mode won’t be featured in HITMAN 3 and we have made the difficult decision to shut down the Ghost Mode servers for HITMAN 2 on Monday 31st August 2020. We have learnt a hell of a lot from Ghost Mode over the last two years and we’ll be taking all of those learnings onboard for what we do in the future with regards to multiplayer."

In other server-related news, IO also says that it's planning to "sunset" the co-op servers in Hitman 2 ahead of the release of Hitman 3 in January 2021, although we don't have an exact timeline just yet. However, the developer has confirmed that it's working on a solution to the mode’s multiplayer achievements.

As for Hitman 3, there's plenty of good stuff to look forward to. The game's campaign mode will take you on a "globetrotting adventure to sprawling sandbox locations," while the Escalations, Contract, Sniper Assassin and Elusive Targets modes will all return, with the latter reportedly receiving some changes.

Disappointed about Ghost Mode? Looking forward to Hitman 3? Let us know in the comments.