This is murder! Hitman adding 'Professional' difficulty

The episodic Hitman [official site] wrapped up its 'first season' last year (read Wot Alec Thinks of the whole thing) but it's not done and dusted. A new 'Professional' difficulty setting will arrive in a free update later this month, publishers Square Enix announced today, to make murder more difficult. Expect guards to be more alert and inquisitive, more trouble disguising yourself, security cameras spotting your shenanigans, only one manual save per mission, and so on.

Professional difficulty will launch in a free update on January 31st. It won't be available instantly, mind, instead unlocking on a per-location basis when you reach Mastery Level 20 in each. Dunno why it needs to be unlocked, dunno why it's not universal. Professional difficulty will be an option in all Story missions, bar the Prologue, and not in the 'live content'.

Because Squeenix have some funny ideas about how to convey information, they detailed Professional difficulty on an image. Is that a 'meme'? Does that make it a 'meme'? Let's say it's a 'meme'. I like the dancing baby but Squeenix's picture doesn't even move so, for your convenience, I've done written it all down with wordy words:

• Security cameras can spot illegal activity and guards will be dispatched to investigate
• Each location has been tweaked and altered
• Separate leaderboards with a Professional modifier
• Unique unlockable rewards
• Guards are more thorough when searching
• Professional Challenges and Mastery
• Suspicious/illegal items according to current disguise
• Increase number of security cameras (in logical places)
• Only one manual save allowed
• Auto-saves are disabled
• Clean kills are required to take a disguise
• Increased guard search radius
• NPCs are more perceptive to footsteps, especially when running
• Increased guard alertness
• Fewer disguise pick-ups
• Slower health regeneration

Yes, that indeed sounds like it'll make murder more difficult. January 31st.