https://www.ioi.dk/hitman-3-road-to-freelancer/

They'll have more info on October 27 and a closed beta in November, only for Steam users (I'm on PS5, so out of luck there).

I'd hoped this would be out before next year, but maybe it's best that they took their time with it. I'm hoping that this is the thing that can really rope me back into Hitman. I love the franchise, but when you've attained max mastery on every map there's not much reason to keep playing. A dynamic mode like Freelancer may just be exactly what the game needs.

I say that because the fact that Hitman has never had any real economy or roguelite elements leads to you playing it a certain way that doesn't necessarily fit amazingly well with the idea of a contract killer. I was always playing the game either to complete challenges for level mastery, or trying to get a perfect silent assassin ranking. But with this new mode being about building up money and equipment and safehouse upgrades for future hits, I have a feeling the focus will be more on doing whatever works--and doing it quickly--with less worrying about getting the hit done flawlessly or in a particular fashion. I think I may just be shooting people in the head and running a lot more than I ever have, which for me is an exciting prospect.

And now begins the three-and-a-half month wait.

I missed seeing this from a week or two ago, but IOI now has a video that walks us through exactly how the new Freelancer mode works (I'm embedding a re-uploaded version of the video because the official IOI account video is age-gated, which is annoying):

It all works pretty much how I expected it would work, but it's nice to have some of the granular detail. Should add a lot to the game's replayability. I don't imagine I'll play much of the other game modes after it comes out, aside from elusive targets. I just like the idea that there's actually going to be some kind of economy and a sense that you're building up your business, for lack of a better expression. I suspect that having this larger goal is going to help me feel more engaged with the game than I've been in a quite a while.

Granted, I only got to play a tiny bit, so I cannot offer a legitimate evaluation -- but my immediate reaction was excitement at how it did seem like a fabulously clever way to craft a (potentially) endless HITMAN-experience! I think this will indeed hit the spot for hungry Hitmaniacs.