Hitman: Absolution producer Hakan Abrak has revealed that the upcoming return of Agent 47 will feature a hardcore difficulty mode.

The setting will reward veteran assassins with Achievements and Trophies for playing as a stealth killer. "It's more pacify your enemies, be undetected, maybe solve the challenges in a smarter way," Abrak said.

Speaking with Eurogamer, Abrak said more details will be revealed at "a later point," but the mode does focus specifically on "player style." We suspect that more than a few controllers will be taken out of commish after levels require multiple restarts.

"Rest assured, the hardcore fans that like to have replayablity value in the game or want to have this stealth assassin--you know, I'm the ultimate stealth assassin--that playing style, those achievements, are very much in the game." Good news for those who felt the next game in the series was abandoning its stealthy roots for an action focus.

As for the mode's official name, Abrak is not revealing it just yet. "Yeah, it has a very special name," he told EuroGamer. "And I'm pretty sure it's going to please the hardcore fans. I can't say what it is."

For more on Hitman: Absolution, check out our preview from E3 2011.