Hitman Version

[Janie Mccorey]

Hitmanis a stealth game franchise created by Danish developer IO Interactive. The player controls the contract killer Agent 47, who travels the world to assassinate various targets who are assigned to him.

Primarily from a third-person perspective and set in an open world environment, the core objective of Hitman is to kill an assigned target or targets. The game allows the player different options to accomplish this task. Players can perform precise or indiscriminate assassinations; the games employ players to implement a subtle approach to completing the levels, although this is not necessary.[4]

When game developer Zyrinx dissolved in 1998, the remaining team reformed themselves as Reto-Moto.[5] That team created IO Interactive (IO). IO's first intellectual property was Hitman and they created the first game in the series, titled Hitman: Codename 47. Originally, IO wanted to create a "simple shooter" titled Rex-Domonius, but the idea was scrapped by Reto-Moto.[5]

Danish designer Jacob Andersen is responsible for the genesis of Hitman: Codename 47 and its depiction of protagonist Agent 47. Andersen is quoted saying, "We decided to do a quick game inspired by Hong Kong action movies... Basically a guy in a suit blasting away in a Chinese restaurant". Soon after the initial idea was proposed, the background for Agent 47 took hold, with the idea of a genetically modified clone assassin. The concept of taking disguises from non-player characters fundamentally changed the way Hitman would be played.[5] It became one of the first games to implement ragdoll physics.[6] Codename 47 was published by Eidos Interactive in 2000 and released for Windows hardware because "it was hard for us to get hold of development kits", Andersen recalls. "On top of that, 3D hardware was beginning to appear for the PC, which made it extremely interesting to develop for".[5]

The first sequel in the series, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, was developed by IO and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in October 2002, and GameCube in June 2003. The gameplay of Silent Assassin builds upon that of Codename 47, focusing more on its stealth mechanics and introducing features such as the option for a first-person view, the ability to incapacitate enemies instead of killing them, and missions with different approaches.[5] "Now that the main platform was PS2, we felt more at home", Andersen remembers, though some players of the original were dissatisfied with the introduction of a mid-level save system. The controls were improved and the team tried to fix AI problems, but non-player characters found new ways to misbehave. "Many have tried to fix the AI since and all have failed", Andersen smiles. "It just has to have those odd moments, otherwise it wouldn't be Hitman".[5]

The next sequel was Hitman: Contracts. It was developed by IO and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2 and Xbox in April 2004. It is both a sequel to Silent Assassin, and a remake of Codename 47, as it features several levels from the first game that were remastered with enhanced graphics, improved AI, and gameplay elements introduced in the second game. This stemmed from the fact that only 10% of Silent Assassin players had played Codename 47 due to the latter's Windows exclusivity; Andersen is quoted saying, "We decided to make Hitman 2.5 with some of the best content from [Codename 47]".[7]

Hitman: Blood Money was developed by IO and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox and Xbox 360 in May 2006. The game was developed alongside its predecessor and is a direct continuation of the events that occurred in the previous installment. IO and Eidos both put resources into Blood Money, achieving major improvements to the graphics, AI, and level design.[7] The reception of the game has been generally positive and is considered a cult classic.[8] The game has been rereleased three separate times. Once has an HD collection along with its two predecessors in 2013,[9] again as another HD collection along with its successor in 2019,[10] and, most recently, for mobile devices in 2023[11] and the Nintendo Switch in 2024.[12]

Hitman: Absolution was developed by IO Interactive and published by Square Enix, following their acquisition of Eidos Interactive in 2009. It was released on 20 November 2012 worldwide for Microsoft Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[16][17][18] Before release, the developers stated that Absolution, while still a stealth game, would drop the sandbox levels created in the first four Hitman games and adopt many action game style elements such as having a cinematic story-driven narrative and more emphasis on gunplay in order to be accessible to a larger player base.[5] In an attempt to become more accessible, the developers introduced a mechanic called 'Instinct', which allowed Agent 47 to monitor enemies easier, as it highlighted them through walls and highlighted objects of interest too. This feature would become a mainstay for the franchise moving forward.[5]

Hitman Go was released for iOS on 17 April 2014, and for Android on 4 June 2014.[23] and is a turn based puzzle video game developed by Square Enix Montreal.[24] The Microsoft Windows and the Windows Phones version of the game was released on 27 April 2015.[25] A "Definitive Edition" including improved visuals and all additional content was released for the PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam on 23 February 2016.[26]

Hitman: Sniper is a first-person shooter developed by Square Enix Montreal. It was released for iOS and Android on 4 June 2015. The game does not include any story elements and focuses on Agent 47 executing targets from a static location using a sniper rifle.[27]

Following the under-performance of Absolution, the next title was conceived as a re-imagining of the franchise as IO Interactive attempted to combine the gameplay elements introduced in Absolution with the open-ended nature of older Hitman games.[28] A soft reboot of the series was announced at E3 2015 and was published by Square Enix. Titled Hitman, the game's first level was released in March 2016[29] for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to highly positive reviews. Episodic in nature, Hitman features six levels that were released throughout 2016, one month apart from each other, along with additional content at launch, such as "Elusive Targets", "Escalations", and user-created "Contracts" (similar to Absolution's "Contracts" mode). The developers chose the episodic approach to give themselves more time to work on each level, while also letting them create a live game that would expand over time and establish a foundation for the series' future.

The levels that were released in 2016 were planned to constitute a first season of Hitman, with two more seasons to follow.[30][31] However, the game was not financially successful for Square Enix, and in 2017, it decided to part ways with IO. This forced IO to become an independent studio, although it retained full control of the Hitman IP.[32] IO abandoned the episodic format and developed the next Hitman game as a standalone title.[33] Hitman 2 was announced in June 2018 by IO Interactive and Warner Bros. Games (which published the title). The game was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in November 2018. Like 2016's Hitman, it was structured around six large sandbox levels, but unlike its predecessor, the game is not episodic and introduces several features, multiplayer mode, and two additional levels post-launch.[34] Players had the option to carry over levels from the first game at an additional cost; if a player already owned the first game, they were able to do so free of charge, while retaining all their original progress.[28]

A compilation was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 11 January 2019 worldwide by Warner Bros. Games through the PlayStation Store and Xbox Store featuring updated ports of Hitman: Blood Money and Hitman: Absolution for both platforms, called Hitman HD: Enhanced Collection. This port promised updated graphics, 4K resolution, improved textures, lighting, and updated controls for both games.[35]

Hitman 3 was revealed at the PlayStation 5 reveal event in 2020, and released in January 2021 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Stadia, and Nintendo Switch (as a cloud version). The game was developed and self-published by IO Interactive. Similarly to Hitman 2, Hitman 3 would not be episodic and gave players the option to carry over progress from the previous two games. For the first time in the series, the game included VR support, which extended to levels imported from the first two games.[28] The game was positively received, with many citing it as the best entry in the series to date, and was also the most commercially successful Hitman game. IO Interactive supported Hitman 3 extensively with several releases of downloadable content and free updates that added new features, game modes, and a new map.[36] In January 2023, IO announced that Hitman and Hitman 2 would be merged into Hitman 3, which would be renamed Hitman: World of Assassination.[37]

Under license from IO, Hitman Sniper: The Shadows was a first-person shooter developed by Square Enix Montreal and was a sequel to Hitman: Sniper. It was released for iOS and Android on 3 March 2022. It included the same gameplay as its predecessor, without Agent 47 as a playable character.[39] It is the last Hitman game to be published by Square Enix, as it sold most of its assets to Embracer Group, and the game was discontinued by January 2023.

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