Hitman was initially supposed to release around this time but was delayed in order to give it an extra few months of polish so I'm quite interested to see how this beta test will fare.

The beta phase for the PS4 will begin on February 12th and a week later, on February 19th for the PC. Along with the announcement came a short trailer, embedded below.

The first mission will be all about the beginning of Agent 47's career and will detail his recruitment in to ICA as well as the first meeting with his long-time handler, Diana Burnwood. Sounds pretty great to me, though there is a catch. Only those who preorder the game will have guaranteed access to it.

The first release of Hitman is scheduled for the 11th of March and will feature three sandbox locations and six missions while the rest will be coming at a later date as a paid upgrade. It isn't as bad as it looks on first glance though. The so called "introduction package" will cost you $35 and will allow you to get a taste of what Hitman has to offer while the subsequent upgrade will cost another $25, or in other words the two combined will be the same price as any other AAA release.

It is certainly an unusual way of doing business I must say, but if it allows them to cower the cost of development by essentially releasing the game in an episodic format I don't really see much of an issue with it.