Eidos announces new Hitman title

British publisher Eidos has revealed details of the next title in its popular Hitman series, with Io Interactive's latest set to be titled Hitman: Blood Money and planned for launch next Spring on PC, Xbox and PS2.

The game will feature significantly upgraded graphics and AI, as well as a unique new gameplay feature where players will be paid for carrying out contracts, and how they spend the money will influence their passage through the storyline as well as what weapons are available.

The storyline of the title features the series' anti-hero, Agent 47, fleeing to the USA after losing contact with his contract agency, the ICA, whose agents have been systematically bumped off by a rival agency.

"Considerable time and effort has been spent developing a new version of the Glacier engine that enables us to implement many new and exciting features," according to Io Interactive managing director Janos Flosser. "The quality of the graphics and A.I. surpasses even our own expectations and this combined with a gripping narrative and the introduction of some really inventive characters makes us confident that Blood Money will be the greatest Hitman title to date."

Although the Hitman series is unquestionably one of the jewels in Eidos' crown, so much so that it purchased developer Io in a £28 million deal last March, the last game in the series sent the company's share price tumbling when expected re-orders of 700,000 units failed to materialise.

The company blamed the missed target on a general softness in the US industry at the time, and appears confident that the same misfortune won't strike this next instalment, which is likely to be one of the most important games for the publisher this financial year.

"The Hitman series is one of Eidos' biggest franchises," enthused CEO Mike McGarvey in a statement today, "and goes from strength to strength with every new instalment. Io-Interactive is one of the world's most accomplished developers, and yet again has raised the stakes in terms of graphics and gameplay with Hitman: Blood Money."