Hitman developers reveal how they chose the iconic locations in the series – 'it always starts with wouldn't it be cool if 47 went somewhere?'

• Two Hitman developers have discussed how the team chose some of the locations featured in the franchise
• Each location will "typically have an event that is special"
• The developers also wanted to mirror different types of spy fantasy

In a recent interview with TechRadar Gaming, two Hitman developers discussed how they chose some of the global locations that have appeared as levels in the series.

"It always starts with 'wouldn't it be cool if 47 went somewhere?' If you take a step back and look at the different locations and what goes on, [...] we typically have an event that is special in that location," explained Jacob Mikkelsen, legendary level designer at series developer IO Interactive.

He went on to pinpoint the first major level from 2016's Hitman as as example. "In the case of Paris, Michael the writer had this setup where we have this Russian oligarch who owns a fashion company, and then his partner in crime is selling off these spy secrets at a secret auction that takes place at the same time under cover of the fashion show."

"I spoke with Martin, the art director at the time, about where this should all take place and then he said, 'I think it should be a palace in Paris' and I was like, 'okay, cool, but they are kind of big, right?' and that was like 'I need a courtyard for the fashion show' so then I went location scouting in Paris on Google Maps," he continued.

"I found the different palaces they have in Paris, and I ended on Palais de Luxembourg and I chose [to base the map on] that one because of the shape of the building allows for ledges around it, so it would actually work really well for agility all around the building on the outside."

According to Christian Elverdam chief creative officer and director of multiple Hitman titles, the central question is always "what's the most complex social event we could imagine at the time?"

The next question is then "how can 47 have a disguise that makes him part of that? You know, be on stage." Then of course, it's "what's the biggest chandelier you crash on someone?"

Jack of all trades

Elverdam also explained that very careful attention was paid to fulfilling different types of spy fantasy with each level.

"In Paris, Diana has been contacted by MI6 to secure a NOC list of agents and stop this auction of secrets. It's basically what James Bond would be doing if he was in the universe," he said.

"We were flirting with agent fantasy. We then wanted Sapienza to feel a little bit more like a Mission Impossible plot, with this DNA specific virus. I will say it's funny that then later that became the plot of No Time to Die [...] but that was actually something we felt could be in a Mission Impossible movie. We wanted Marrakesh to have some of those gritty newer vibes, like Jason Bourne."

These ideas paired with the different locations that the developers wanted to include like "a marriage", he argued. "It's fairly organic."

Hitman: World of Assassination, a compilation of all three recent Hitman games, is available now for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X and Series S, Xbox One, and PC, or as Hitman World of Assassination – Signature Edition for Nintendo Switch 2.

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1. Best overall:
PlayStation 5 Slim
2. Best budget:
Xbox Series S
3. Best handheld:
Nintendo Switch 2
4. Most powerful:
PlayStation 5 Pro

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