SquareEnix and IO Interactive have released one of the coolest features to come to a video game in quite a long time. This is a mission called ‘The Elusive Targets” where you have only one chance to eliminate your target over a ‘real world’ 48 hour window. There are no second chances! After the 48 hours have expired the mission is over and the target has escaped, never to return.

The first Elusive Target is Sergei Larin, aka The Forger and will be available to play for 48 hours starting from 18.00 CEST / 09:00 PDT or your local equivalent. IO will be sharing updates on the Hitman Twitter page throughout the 48 hour period, and suggest using the hashtag #ElusiveTarget to share your live stream or best moments.

According to IO, “an Elusive Target is the closest thing to the Hitman fantasy that we’ve ever created. Each one is a custom-created character with their own backstory and their own unique reason for being in that location. We call them Elusive Targets because they are added to an existing location for a limited time in real-time and you’ll only have one chance to take them down. If you kill them, that’s the way that you killed them. There are no do-overs and no second chances. When an Elusive Target leaves the game world, they never return.”

Players will get briefed by Diana with critical intel that will help you track down your target. Pay very close attention to this because the targets do not show up on the map or when using instinct. IO recommends having a Plan B as the save game option will be disabled during these contracts. These contracts are intended to be difficult by design. Players who can complete these Elusive Target contracts can receive the signature suit from Hitman: Absolution after completing 5 Elusive Target contracts successfully. Completing 10 contracts will unlock the signature suit from Hitman: Blood Money.

IO Interactive will also be adding two new Escalation Contracts to the game. The first is called “The Kotti Paradigm”, located in Paris, based off of a contract created by Hitman speedrunner TheKotti with the difficulty ramped up. The Kotti Paradigm only has 3 stages, but each stage has a pair of complications, and will require you to use a Battle Axe for at least one stage. The other Escalation Contract is in Sapienze called The Scarlatti Covenant, where you must use a priests disguise and explosive kills to complete the contract.