IO Interactive has announced that the latest offering of Agent 47, Hitman: Absolution, will be aimed at a wider audience than previous titles and will be made “easier to play and more accessible.” In an interview with DigitalTrends, director Tore Blystad said:

“The Hitman games of the past have been very hardcore. Even though the fantasy of the Hitman universe has a very universal appeal, the games have been so difficult to play, that it’s been more of an acquired taste.

The biggest challenge that we had with this game was to make it much broader in every sense, so that it was easier to play and more accessible, but still retain a very strong, hardcore side as well. We don’t want to alienate any of our fans who have been extremely loyal for so many years.”

Blystad also goes on to mention the new AI featured within Absolution.

“If you attack an enemy from any angle, than we’re able to have them fight back, or continue on in a normal state if you ignore them.

There are similar things in games like GTA or these bigger sandbox games, but it’s on a much less granular level because we have a very strong focus on the abilities of the characters.

You get so close to the characters in this game. They all have names, and they have all some kind of part to play in the story, so that they act as believable as possible is the most important thing for us. It’s the most central part of the game.”

Both great bits of new for some players who found the previous Hitman games tough.