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

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

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 Chalk
US News Lead

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.

Read more
Screenshots from Half-Life 2 RTX, showing the various new effects delivered by full ray tracing and enhanced assets.
The Half-Life 2 RTX demo is out now and well worth a go… if your graphics card can take it
midnight murder club
'The point is to be generous': This $20 FPS releasing next month is trying something new—giving away a full version of the game
DoubleWe demo
DoubleWe blends Guess Who with Hitman, and its demo is one of the best I've played in ages
Company of Heroes 3
Company of Heroes 3 is free to try and 50% off, so it's the best time to check out the beefy 2.0 overhaul
Hades
The best games on Steam in 2025
Obsidian's Avowed
A long-awaited RPG release hits PC Game Pass Day One this month
Latest in Third Person Shooter
helldivers 2
Helldivers 2 composer recalls stomping around his apartment and channeling 'Super Patriotism' to capture Arrowhead's satirical vision in music: 'The satire works because the music believes it's a pure patriotic love without irony or criticism'
farcana
'The Middle East's answer to Marvel Rivals' is an 'AI-powered', crypto-infused hero shooter that looks like hot garbage
Marvel Rivals characters - Invisible Woman preparing to cast a shield.
'Searches for Invisible Woman went up 3,000%': Marvel Rivals devs innocently reflect on how popular some of their heroes have become
A Helldiver charges through the fire and flames in Helldivers 2.
Helldivers 2 CCO Johan Pilestedt says the industry's got it backwards by putting features over fundamentals: 'We talk way too little about the core philosophy'
Marvel Rivals codes - Venom and other heroes
'A developer who actually listens': Marvel Rivals' devs fix accidental Peni Parker nerf just 9 short hours after saying they would
Two characters from Warframe 1999 lounging in a bar.
The warframe with a guitar that shoots fire is out today alongside a bunch of metalcore-inspired skins, cementing Warframe's spiral into Y2K madness
Latest in News
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
Silent Hill f is not messing around – now it's been banned in Australia
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 22: A view of Google Headquarters in Mountain View, California, United States on August 22, 2024.
'Google must divest the Chrome browser:' DOJ renews call for Google to sell Chrome, and Android could be next
Victory screen of Big Rigs showing infamous "You're Winner" message under a three-handle gold trophy
One of the worst games ever made is coming to Steam, but we won't know how cruel this joke is until we see the price tag
Sci-fi character from Dune
Dune: Awakening promises us a breath of fresh air, skipping early access for a full launch with no monthly subscription in May
Baldur's Gate 3 Karlach concept art
'The dream of the tech industry is to sell off your company at an overinflated price and retire,' says actor behind Baldur's Gate 3's Karlach, 'And I feel that's being done with game studios right now'
assassin's creed shadows protector's armor
Assassin's Creed Shadows hits 2 million players, putting it on track to be the series' most successful game yet