It’s been five years since IO Interactive launched Hitman: World of Assassination, the latest installment in its long-running stealth action game series, and the title shows no signs of slowing down. The game has steadily been putting out new content to keep players coming back for more, including having the iconic contract killer Codename 47 hunt or protect elusive targets. With over 85 million players across all platforms worldwide, including around one million players who login regularly years after the game’s debut, this post-launch strategy has certainly paid off and reflects industry-wide changes on standalone experiences and continued live-service models.
Den of Geek was invited to attend an IO Interactive Access event in Los Angeles, speaking to personnel behind the company’s biggest titles, including the state of Hitman: World of Assassination.
“You look at the way that gamers are consuming content these days – back in the day, when we were making games, it was completely different,” IO Interactive chief development officer Véronique Lallier tells us in an exclusive interview, noting that the post-launch support has strengthened IOI’s connection and feedback loop with its playerbase. “I think that it’s very vital these days. You need to have that sense of community because, without our players, we’re nothing. That’s something that’s very important for our company.”
Last year, as a build-up for IOI’s other hit release, 007 First Light, the elusive target was Le Chiffre, with Mads Mikkelsen reprising his Casino Royale Bond villain role. Since then, Hitman: World of Assassination has had Codename 47 defend an elusive target resembling Bruce Lee, get hired by Eminem to eliminate his antagonistic alter ego Slim Shady, and more. Most recently, Codename 47 infiltrated a remote island fighting tournament to take on a target played by Wiz Khalifa. More than just adding a bit of celebrity flash to the live-service experience, these eclectic choices in elusive targets reflects IOI playing with expectations surrounding the Hitman franchise and leaning into player response.
“We listen to what the players want,” Lallier explains. “We also develop targets based on what we love as well, like Jean-Claude Van Damme and Eminem, that resonate with us. We’ve been trying to do different things with targets. We’re exploring all the time, looking at what worked and what didn’t work from previous targets, we can see that our elusive targets get more and more engagement. The players are seeing that we’re listening to what they suggest in their feedback.”
Among the biggest Hitman announcements to come out of the IOI Access event is that the first three games in the series – 2000’s Hitman: Codename 47, 2002’s Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and 2004’s Hitman: Contracts – are getting remastered and optimized for modern platforms in 2027. Bundled as the Hitman Classic Trilogy Remastered, the collection is being handled by Saber Interactive, who have previously released acclaimed remasters of Tomb Raider and Halo. For IOI, Saber Interactive’s dedicated team, who were already clear fans of the original Hitman games, made their choice as the developers for this remaster a natural one, with Lallier observing that Saber has a visible track record of maintaining the fine balance of preserving past experiences while reintroducing them to newcomers, praising their diligent approach.
“Just having people who share the same love and passion for what was done just felt right for us,” Lallier notes. “When our teams are making our games, we love what we’re doing. That was something that just felt so organic when we talked to them. They really understand what we’re doing, what we’re trying to do, and what we’ve done. It just felt right.”
But as exciting as it is to see the original Hitman games get remastered with upgraded technical presentations and take on celebrities like Wiz Khalifa and Jean-Claude Van Damme in Hitman: World of Assassination elusive target missions, IOI is keeping its cards close to the chest about the future of the franchise beyond this. With over a million players staying active with World of Assassination, Lallier explains that it’s important for the company to keep serving them with fresh and fun experiences, including the previously announced co-op gameplay coming to the title. At the same time, Lallier admits that a new Hitman game is something of an inevitability, it’s just a matter of when.
“Hitman is our legacy, it’s in our DNA,” Lallier declares. “We will definitely do something eventually. But at the moment, our focus has really been on development of 007 First Light and more. Last year, we mentioned co-op and that’s been something we’ve been looking into, something those on the project will continue to work on. Hopefully, we’ll have more to talk about soon!”
Developed and published by IO Interactive, Hitman: World of Assassination is available now in most major platforms, including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2, PC, and macOS.
