Hitman: Absolution, the next installment in the series, won’t be easier than its predecessors, but it will be more “flexible,” taking a different approach in teaching the player the overall mechanics.

“Hitman has historically been a very hard game, and it still is in many ways, but we also focussed on… easing the player into the game,” IO Interactive’s Tore Blystad told games.on.net. “Making him understand the game and making him form choices, rather than just killing him off and having him restart.”

It’s been almost five years, but finally our mysterious assassin returns. The hunter has becomes the hunted in Hitman Absolution, as Agent 47  is caught in the middle of a “citywide manhunt.”

The upcoming title retains the series’ “penchant” for stealth, as our protagonist uses darkness to his advantage. However, the silent assassin is surprisingly more acrobatic; he’ll be climbing around the environment to perform more “stylish” assassinations. He also has an advantage; “instinct mode,” a detective mode which outlines enemies locations.

It’s more cinematic, more stylish, and runs on technologies that play with light and shadows. Hitman has changed, but the developers seem to have on innovated on — not destroyed – the franchise.

Superannuation reports that last Wednesday Eidos filed a trademark registration for Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, suggesting that a long-rumored sequel is indeed on the way.

However, Eidos hasn’t exactly been shy about talking on the sequel. Back in May, Eidos president Ian Livingstone said that developer IO Interactive was working on the sequel. “We’ve already got Kane & Lynch 2 in production, which just goes to show the belief we have in it as a long-term franchise.”

More info should be revealed shortly.

The sequel to the film adaptation of Hitman is in production, according to a new report by movie site IESB.

Writer Kyle Ward, also attached to the Kane & Lynch adaptation, is handling the script for Hitman 2. Producers Adrian Askarieh, Daniel Alter and Chuck Gordon will return to work on the project.

The original Hitman movie, released in 2007, starred Deadwood veteran Timothy Olyphant in the role as Agent 45 himself. Despite dismal reviews, the film eventually raked in $99.9 million at the box office.