Hitman 3’s excellent Dubai mission is free for the week

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Hitman 3 is really good: "IO's most creative and surprising assassination sim yet," we said in our 90% review, which goes on to describe it ias "a beautiful, deep, and endlessly replayable murder sandbox, featuring some of the best levels in the series." That's a pretty strong recommendation.

If you'd rather sample the good for yourself (without having to put any money up front), now you can—to a point—through the new Hitman 3: Free Starter Pack. The new demo version, now available on the Epic Games Store, provides unlimited access to two locations, the ICA Facility and Hawke's Bay (actually the locale used for the Hitman 2 prologue mission Nightcall), and will "periodically" include other locations as well.

To kick things off right, IO is also making Hitman 3's first location, Dubai, free for the week through the Starter Pack. You'll skydive onto the tallest building in the world, explore its magnificent, ultra-luxurious upper floors, and commit multiple murders for money before making your escape. Dubai will be available with the Free Starter Pack until April 5.

"Over time, we’ll add more free content from the World of Assassination for a limited time," IO Interactive said. "Whether it’s a full location or an Elusive Target, there’ll be new challenges waiting for you. Anything that we make available for free in the Starter Pack will also be free for Hitman 3 owners for the same duration, which means that Hawke’s Bay is currently available for all Hitman 3 players."

Owners of the first two Hitman games who haven't yet made a move on the third will be able to import locations and progress from those games into the Free Starter Pack, and any XP and unlocks earned in the freebie will carry over to the full version of Hitman 3, should you opt to spring for it.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.