"There's level design, and then there's Hitman level design": IO Interactive leads reflect on 25 years with Agent 47, the "ramifications" of the World of Assassination, and "actually realizing we were about to do this"

Cropped in key art of Agent 47 for Hitman 2016, showing him suited in front of a world map.

It's no wonder Agent 47 is a master assassin. After 25 years of Hitman, he's had more than enough time to become a surefire murder professional, taking players through heaps of sandbox missions to creatively off a huge list of ne'er do well targets. The milestone anniversary, celebrating a quarter of a century since Hitman: Codename 47 released on PC on November 19, 2000, is the perfect excuse to chat with the series' current developers and nerd out about the series' fantastic history of clockwork-like, finely tuned levels.

"We're feeling good," says Christian Elverdam, IO Interactive CCO (and director of 2016's Hitman) when I ask about the studio's mood. It's been a journey. Not only has the studio released three full games from 2016 to 2021, but they've been collected together into a living game as Hitman: World of Assassination. Partway through, the studio went from being owned by Square Enix, to independent; shifted from an episodic release model; and has juggled fan expectations around the legendary classic games such as Hitman: Blood Money.