Hitman: The Dark Past Of Agent 47 Explained

The Hitman franchise is a series that has been, quietly ticking along for almost 20 years now. With its inception in the year 2000 with Codename 47, this bald assassin has only really gone from strength to strength with each entry. There have been a few stumbles along the way. With Hitman Absolution being a weird stand out, and Hitman Contracts existing just to keep investors happy, but each time IO Interactive have learned from these bumps in the road.

Despite Agent 47 being, one of the blandest looking characters in all of video game history, this silent assassin has taken a life on of his own. Going from a cold-hearted killer that is slapped on the front of a box, to a comical genius. This is why 47 endure for so long now. Yes, he could use fibre wire to kill a target or an exploding rubber duck.

There is something here for everyone.

But what is behind the cold exterior and what does the barcode really mean? Where did 47 come from, and why does he kill? Is it for the money, the pleasure of it all? Or perhaps, something else entirely? For that, we’ll have to take a deep dive back into his history. To truly explore the past of videos games most notorious contract killer.