Hitman developer IO Interactive has finally commented on how its episodic game handles saving.

When Hitman's first episode launched, fans were surprised to discover that Hitman's saves made while online were incompatible with those made offline.

This means if you play online and for whatever reason you go offline (you lose connection, Square Enix's servers drop etc.) none of your saves made while online will work. Large portions of Hitman are only available online - indeed, it is designed to be played while connected to the game's servers so you can gain access to the latest set of live content.

And the game itself is designed to be expanded over the next year with new locations, missions and contracts before the game gets a disc-based release.

But the fact that no connection can be guaranteed 100 per cent of the time - and that players with online saves are effectively locked out of playing even the game's offline portions with those same saves - has left some players frustrated.

It may become even more of an issue later this year as more complicated areas are added, with levels requiring longer play stints. Hitman owners report being returned back to the game's main menu while mid-mission whenever the game's servers lose connection.

"When we announced Hitman, we explained to fans and to gamers everywhere how we are creating a live game," an IO Interactive spokesperson has now told Eurogamer.

"This is a constantly evolving, living world of assassination, that will grow alongside the community with frequent content updates in between the launch of each location. This live content includes new contracts, escalation contracts, elusive targets, and even additional challenges.

"It is possible to enjoy the locations offline, but in order to ensure player-progress of the live content is correct and up to date, the save states for online and offline are kept separate."

It doesn't sound like Hitman's save system is being altered any time soon, then - it's just something to keep in mind while playing.