Hitman pre-order incentive is Sniper Challenge game, out next week

Gamers will get to play the new Hitman: Absolution as soon as next week thanks to a digital spin-off available to those who pre-order the game.

Called Hitman: Sniper Challenge, the digital bonus has been built from scratch by developer IO Interactive.

The download gives sets players the challenge of taking out a set of targets in 15 minutes.

Global leaderboards will track scores, while continued play and replay of digital spin-off will unlock content in Absolution, which is out later this year.

Sniper Challenge goes live on Tuesday next week.

Those who pre-order in-store will get a physical case with a download code to take home, while those who order online will get mailed codes.

"Pre-orders are really key in this market, but it’s tough to create something that’s worth pre-ordering," said Jon Brooke, marketing director at Square Enix Europe.

"Extra content and special editions are all very valid, but we wanted to do something special and give something meaningful back straight away as a reward for pre-ordering.

"There can often be a huge gap between pre-order and release day, and this gives something for Hitman players to get stuck into while they wait."