Io Interactive announced last week that Hitman would have its very own Christmas mission, called "Holiday Hoarders," in which Agent 47 would set off to deliver the gift of an untimely demise to a pair of thieves running loose in Paris. That mission went live today, and it turns out the thieves in question are actually a very familiar duo by the name of Harry and Marv.
The mission is "a bit of an odd one," according to the briefing, an image of which was tweeted by @countzio. "Your targets are Harry 'Smokey' Bagnato and Marv 'Slick' Gonif, a pair of professional thieves currently breaking into the Palais De Walewska. Bagnato and Gonif are both American nationals now living in Paris after a series of botched break-ins and related violent crimes forced them to leave their home country."
The last names are different, but the first names—not to mention their images and rap sheet—are clearly references to Harry and Marv of Home Alone, the bungling crooks who suffered so greatly at the hands of a young Macaulay Culkin. It's cute and clever, and should be a fairly straightforward job: You can kill them in any way you like, wearing any costume you like. (Although if you don't do while dressed up as Santa, you're clearly not trying hard enough.)
The December update includes a new "Secret Santa" challenge pack, the "Santa 47" suit, three holiday-themed items, and "a holiday-appropriate way to exit the 'Holiday Hoarders' mission." It also fixes a few bugs, improves the supersampling filter, and disables the broken "pull an enemy" function. The update is free for all players, but Io Interactive is asking that players make a donation to the World Cancer Research Fund in return.
“Cancer is something that affects everyone in one way or another at some point in their lives," studio head Hannes Seifert said. "We’re giving away some fun, free holiday content to all Hitman players and we ask in return that if you want to donate to a great cause, please give whatever you can.”