How IO Interactive Chooses Hitman Elusive Targets and Shapes Their Stories

IOI highlights the cast for Hitman World of Assassination Elusive Targets such as JackSepticEye is picked first, before a setting is chosen that thematically fits the talent and with a plot that matches the talent in mood and style

IO Interactive has offered a look behind the scenes at how it chooses Hitman World of Assassination's Elusive Targets and how those special missions are built.

During a conversation following the debut of the game's new The Host feat. JackSepticEye Elusive Target mission, senior level designer Marin Ansdal said IOI's marketing team handles talent selection and outreach, and the level is only created after the person is signed.

Their aim is to bring in talent that can draw more attention to Hitman World of Assassination while also fitting the core audience, helping create special missions that reflect the talent’s persona and shape it to the world of Hitman World of Assassination.

Ansdal went on to say that once a public figure or celebrity is confirmed, the level designer and writer step in, and they work to find a location that thematically suits the talent and build a story that aligns with the talent in tone and genre.

World of Assassination has included a range of guests over the years, among them Snoop Dogg, Sean Bean, Eminem, and Milla Jovovich, while IOI also thinks about how Agent 47 can fit into these specially created missions.

47's talent for disguises lets him move through a broad range of genres, Ansdal said. For instance, when the team worked with Jean-Claude Van Damme, they built a campy science fiction story about a super-soldier cloning site that would seem perfectly at home in a 90s direct-to-video stack.

And when the team worked with Mads Mikkelsen, they effectively placed 47 inside the familiar framework of a Bond-style storyline.

With the newest Elusive Target featuring YouTuber and streamer JackSepticEye, the developer said it created a psychological thriller centered on the shadow side of internet fame, a concept that feels far more current than the previous two examples.

Hitman World of Assassination's new The Host Elusive Target mission is available free now through November 25.

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