The Evolution Of The 'Hitman' Franchise, And Why It Is So Popular
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The Hitman series pushed stealth games further than anyone had done in the genre’s infancy, and continued building on those foundations until it became one of the most beloved games with World of Assassination. With the new Hitman Freelancer mode arriving soon, it is time to build a contract and hunt down why the series has proved popular.
The debut game of the Hitman series, Codename 47, originally was not even meant to be a stealth game. Formed in 1998 as a joint venture between Nordisk Film and existing game studio Reto-Moto, IO Interactive was tasked with making a quick and easy-to-produce action shooter. It would be the proof Nordisk Film needed that the team could make a game. That simple shooter soon transformed into an envelope-pushing stealth game.
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The open-ended nature of what the team wanted to produce meant they had little to draw inspiration from. The complexity of the systems had them testing everything to make sure it worked as they imagined, providing a truly unique gameplay. The major features that fans have come to love all originated here. Players can incapacitate targets, take their clothes as a disguise, and sneak in where they wouldn’t be allowed. Meanwhile, the enemies can react to whatever is happening around them, including becoming suspicious of your bad disguise.
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While it was a challenge at first, Codename 47 was successful enough that a second game was developed. One that refined the systems with a larger team working on them. While Codename 47 was a PC-only release, Silent Assassin would also release on consoles, which gave it a huge, unexpected boost in success. Each successive game would add new features and mechanics to improve the game’s sandbox style of play and give players new ways of messing around within these levels. The Hitman series would reach its peak with Blood Money with major improvements to graphics, AI, and level design.
When Absolution arrived in 2012, its additions to the game made it the best the series has ever seen. However, it had also sacrificed many of its stealth elements for a more action-focused game, which brought ire from long-time fans of the series. Where the game shone was with its Contracts mode, which allowed players the opportunity to create their own contracts for others to play. It would still see thousands of players active a year after the game had launched.
World of Assassination would see the return of player creation as well as the stealth and action gameplay of Absolution. The fusion of these elements would create what has become known as one of the greatest stealth games of all time. Yet despite all of the additions, new modes, and advancements, the core of the Hitman series mostly remained unchanged since its 2000 release.
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