Hitman 3 is the latest outing of the fan-favorite Agent 47 and the finale to the trilogy, started by Hitman 2016. The game is already shaping up to become a strong candidate for this year's GOTY award.

Game Rant gave Hitman 3 a 4.5 out of 5 stars, with praise aimed at the game's spectacular collection of levels and the inherent replayability that comes standard with these newer Hitman games. The commercial and critical success of Hitman 3 means that single-player stealth focused experiences can still make an impact, which makes a strong case for Ubisoft to bring back the fan-beloved Splinter Cell series.

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Hitman 3 released on January 20 and has already recouped its development costs within a week. IO Interactive's CEO has said they are very happy about the game's commercial reception, particularly as Hitman 3 is IO's first self-published Hitman game. The most interesting thing about these newer Hitman 3 games is that they aren't made with the lowest common denominator in mind. After divisive reviews for Hitman: Absolution, the team worked closely with hardcore fans to create the next installment in the series.

Hitman 2016 launched to massive critical acclaim and IO has since tweaked the formula in different ways for the next two games rather than going for radical changes. The new Hitman games, which also include Hitman 3, reward methodical play and taking one's time with a level as they meticulously plan their route to execute the funniest Hitman 3 kills possible. On top of that, these games are single-player focused with an interesting spin on multiplayer, such as the ghost mode in Hitman 2.

Splinter Cell saw its last entry in the form of Splinter Cell: Blacklist, which released in 2013. The game reviewed positively, as fans of its predecessor Splinter Cell: Conviction and older games such as Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory both found a lot to love there. However, the game sold well below what publisher Ubisoft had in mind, which meant that Sam Fisher had to wait it out while Assassin's Creed would rake in the sales.

The sales success of Hitman 3 means great news for the possibility of a new Splinter Cell game. Splinter Cell already has a potent formula in Splinter Cell: Blacklist which allowed for both careful ghost runs and a high-chaos panther and assault playstyle. Since its release, many stealth games like Splinter Cell have released but never quite captured the essence of what it's like to be the titular covert operative, Sam Fisher.

As much as fans of the series have given hope to see the series make a return, the community lights up at the possibility of seeing anything that would indicate otherwise. Ghost Recon: Wildlands has featured Sam Fisher in a DLC, voiced by the iconic Michael Ironside. Ubisoft's live-service tactical FPS Rainbow Six Seige also saw Sam Fisher being added as an attacking operator recently in Operation Shadow Legacy, which indicates that the developers are currently testing the waters. The fan reception to these events has been optimistic for the most part, and the launch of Hitman 3 should give the publisher a final push to give the developers another crack at the series.

Hitman 3 is available now on PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Google Stadia.

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