Nothing official has been announced as of yet but the new trademark suggests that this could be the name of the next installment. News of the trademark comes from Siliconera who also reported that earlier this month the company trademarked the name Hitman: Profession, again suggesting it could be the name of a new title, although to us both names sound more like the titles of downloadable content.

Earlier this month we brought some good news for PS3 owners as it was announced by Hitman: Absolution’s game director, Tore Blystad, that the game would initially be an exclusive to the Sony console. Not only that but he also claimed that better results will be achieved in terms of game performance on the PS3. Despite the disappointment Xbox 360 gamers will be feeling they shouldn’t let that put them off as the game looks set to be best in the series yet.

Whatever the names turn out to be for, one thing we can be sure of is that they will belong to something, whether it’s a new game on another platform or just some extra content, and that something will be in development now. If you have not been keeping up with the Hitman news we have been providing so far you can check out the epic Run for Your Life trailer to get a taste of what you’ve been missing.

Are you looking forward to the new Hitman game?

The game is shaping up to be the best entry in the Hitman franchise to date and you’ll be pleased to see that series developers IO Interactive are back again for Hitman Absolution. Unfortunately there is no indication on when the game will be out though, as the only release information thus far is ’2012′.

On the plus side, for PS3 owners anyway, is that Tore Blystad, game director for Hitman Absolution has revealed that the PS3 will be the lead platform of the game. Hitman Absolution is also due out on Xbox 360 and PC, but in terms of the console version, Blystad believes that the PS3 will be able to achieve better results than the Xbox 360.

Here’s a portion of his interview, which he conducted recently with IncGamers:

”The PS3 is a difficult beast, so if it works on that then we take that as a good sign for the other platforms. Most of the developers are using the PS3 kits to test their stuff. But the way the systems use the memory makes the textures look a bit different sometimes, and we have to trim them down on occasion [for 360].”

If you haven’t been following the development of Hitman Absoution over the last few months, we can tell you that it is looking very promising indeed. Previous Hitman games have been criticized, but if you check out a great gameplay clip that we’ve included below, you’ll see that the game doesn’t look too bad at all.

How do you feel about the Hitman franchise? Will you be picking up Absolution when a launch date is announced?

As Ozzie Mejia from shacknews.com reports, those who attended the E3 2011 event also got to see a demo of the Hitman: Absolution game – which is being developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix – in action, including the graphics with the new Glacier 2 engine.

The demo showed the protagonist Agent 47 on the run from the police. After surviving a firefight and dodging a police helicopter assault, Agent 47 is seen knocking out a police officer and wearing his uniform as a disguise. The demo ended with him just blending into the crowd.

Although the demo displayed a lot of the classic elements of the Hitman series such as the ability to don disguises to escape capture, it also showed off the new Instinct tool. The Instinct tool is a secondary view that highlights enemies on screen and shows players what path they may walk.

This of course enables players to plan their next move accordingly. As Ozzie notes, the new Glacier 2 engine appears to have made the graphics more realistic and a lot smoother. The publisher promises that players will have multiple ways to play through the Hitman: Absolution game.

The trailer can be viewed over on the shacknews.com website. What do you think of the Hitman: Absolution game from what you’ve seen and read so far?

We now have even more good news for you, as according to a recent article over at thegamingliberty.com, the very first Hitman: Absolution (Hitman 5) screenshots have recently been leaked online. There may only be two of them, but I’m sure they will be enough to whet the appetite of Hitman fans.

One of the screenshots appears to show Agent 47 – the series protagonist – dressed in a police disguise, while the other screen shows him watching another group of police. As the article notes, the screens appear to suggest that HItman: Absolution could feature some sort of free-climbing mechanism.

The HItman: Absolution game – which is due to be unveiled properly at the E3 2011 event in Los Angeles – will be set in the United States, with one section of the game taking place in Chicago. The game will be available for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC, and will arrive in stores sometime in 2012.

You can view the screenshots over on thegamingliberty.com. Are you looking forward to hearing more about the upcoming Hitman: Absolution game?

The next game will actually be the fifth Hitman game to date in the series and it will be developed by IO Interactive and published by Square-Enix, since they have now acquired Eidos if you remember. Back to the topic though, as you can view a few images which have been provided by Kotaku and appear to show some candidates for the final box art for Hitman: Absolution – we’ve included one below for you.

According to Kotaku, these images are linked to a marketing survey, and interestingly they all contain the words ‘Hitman: Subtitle’ in them. However, we now know the game will be called Absolution so perhaps these images are a little outdated.

As for the images themselves, we like the one you can see above the most. There’s obviously a good chance that these are just mock-up designs, but we definitely wouldn’t complain if the above image turned out to be the final retail box. What do you think of the box art – are you a true fan of the franchise?

According to a hollywoodreporter.com article by John Gausiosi, Square Enix seems to have taken a Hollywood approach to the upcoming fifth instalment in the action game series, with IO Interactive having worked with a number of Hollywood actors for the Hitman: Absolution game.

The actors were able to bring their virtual characters to life, by using both voice acting and performance capture. Among the game’s cast is ‘White Collar actress Marsha Thomason and actor Keith Carradine, who is stepping into the role of the new villain in Hitman: Absolution, Blake Dexter.

Thomason will be stepping into the shoes of Diana Burnwood, Agent 47’s handler – who also has a close relationship with the protagonist. Speaking about her character, Thomason said that Diana is Agent 47’s only true human contact, and the two have known each other for a long time.

The new game is said to have more emphasis on the emotional human stories that evolve, and that is why the developer decided to hire Hollywood actors. Hitman: Absolution will also have more central characters than previous games, and they’ll all have names and play important roles in the story.

Are you looking forward to the Hitman: Absolution game’s release?

According to a recent article by Pete Davison over at gamepro.com, both the developer IO Interactive and the publisher Square Enix have recently confirmed the upcoming fifth installment, which is titled Hitman: Absolution. The publisher has also provided fans with a teaser trailer for the new game.

The Hitman: Absolution game once again places players in the shoes of Agent 47, who will find himself at the center of a dark conspiracy. According to the game’s director Tore Blystad, the new title promises to take Agent 47 on a personal journey that will enable players to explore other parts of the Hitman fantasy.

As Davison notes, the newly released teaser trailer also shows a barcode that reads ‘110706040147,’ with the 47 part highlighted. The number 47 is obviously a reference to the game’s protagonist Agent 47, but what about the rest of the numbers? This could be a hint about the E3 event.

June 17th, 2011 (11/07/06) just happens to be the opening day of the E3 event, and Square Enix has previously mentioned that the Hitman 5 game would be showcased by invitation only at this’ year’s E3. What are your thoughts on the new teaser trailer?