Evidently a lot of gamers are into virtual assassination, ifHitmandeveloper IO Interactive is to be believed. This month marks 20 years since the franchise first debuted with therelease ofHitman: Codename 47, and to celebrate the occasion, IO has announced that the stealth-action escapades of Agent 47 have drawn in more than 70 million lifetime players.
Over the last two decades, the franchise has seen a fair deal of growth, not just with games but other forms of media as well, including novels, a comic series, andtwo movie adaptations ofHitman. Highlighting all of these, IO took the opportunity to thank everyone who has kept the franchise alive, adding that it’s “honoured to have such a strong community of players, fans and partners that have helped us to continue making games.”
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The developer also revealed that it’s planning on keeping the anniversary celebration going on social media. Over the next few weeks, it’s inviting fans to share their favoriteHitman-related memories, gameplay clips, fan art, cosplay, and more with the hashtag #Hitman20Years. Meanwhile, IO will do the same on its social media channels while highlighting the best contributions from the community.
The 20th anniversary comes just as the nextHitmangame,Hitman 3, is set to launch in a couple of months. There’s a good chance that the upcoming conclusion to the series’ soft-rebootWorld of Assassinationtrilogy will help pull in even more new fans than usual, being asHitman 3will be available on the Nintendo Switchvia a cloud-based version.
Hitman 3will launch on January 20 on PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
