Gamers who pre-order Hitman: Absolution will get this free mini-game to download and practise their sharp shooting skills

Square Enix has officially announced Hitman: Sniper Challenge, a stand-alone mini-game available to gamers who pre-order Hitman: Absolution, the latest instalment in the assassination shooter series.

Details of the offer were leaked earlier this week, via an advert in US magazine Game Informer, but at the time, the exact nature of the package wasn't clear.

Now Square Enix has revealed that customers who pre-order the title from a participating retailer will receive a code allowing them to immediately download Sniper Challenge from the official Hitman Sniper site. The offer begins on 15 May for PS3 and Xbox 360 owners and 1 August on PC.

Gamers who download Sniper Challenge take part in a single timed mission to take out a specified target. They'll be able to unlock the Silenced Agency Kazo TRG weapon, which can then be used in Hitman: Absolution. There are apparently also a further 12 "weapons techniques" to collect.

A set of regional and global online leaderboards are set to keep score, and a prize competition for the most accurate snipers is planned.

Square Enix has confirmed that the content in Sniper Challenge is utterly separate from Absolution – it's not a prequel, and does not contain similar story elements. And there are no plans to make the mini-game more widely available after the release of Absolution.

It's an interesting incentive, which builds on the current trend for providing pre-order customers with extra content. However, it also side-steps one of the key problems with that practise: irritation from those who don't pre-order and feel they're missing out on interesting stuff.

There was some anger last year when Robin was announced as a Batman: Arkham City character, but only for pre-order customers (the content was later made available to all owners of the game).

The stand-alone nature of the Sniper Challenge title means that gamers who don't pre-order won't feel like they're missing out on desirable main game content – although, of course, the provision of an unlockable weapon may still lead to some chagrin.

Anyway, we're getting the chance to play Sniper Challenge this week and we'll let you know what we think on Friday.