Hitman: Blood Money
A 2006 stealth game featuring cloned assassin Agent 47.
Hitman: Blood Money, released in 2006, is a stealth game from IO Interactive and Eidos Interactive. It arrived on Windows, PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Xbox 360 in May of that year. As the fourth game in the Hitman series, it follows 2004's Hitman: Contracts. Players control Agent 47, a cloned assassin, as he tries to dismantle the Franchise—a rival killing organization that threatens the International Contract Agency (ICA) and seeks the cloning technology that created 47. The story is framed by a former FBI director recounting 47's contracts and life to a journalist.
The game was praised for its graphics, story, gameplay, voice acting, and darker mood. It sold over 2.1 million copies and later gained a cult following, often considered one of the greatest games ever made. In 2013, high-definition ports of Blood Money, Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, and Contracts were released for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 as the Hitman HD Trilogy. A sequel, Hitman: Absolution, came out in 2012. In 2019, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment issued 4K remasters of Blood Money and Absolution for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as the Hitman HD Enhanced Collection.
**Gameplay**
Players control Agent 47 from a third-person view, taking on various targets to assassinate. Obstacles include armed guards, security checkpoints, and witnesses. A map shows each area and the locations of targets and characters. Players can eliminate targets in many ways, but the game penalizes excessive noise or violence. New features include climbing over obstacles, better unarmed combat, using non-player characters as human shields, hiding or moving bodies, improved animations, a new game engine, and weapon upgrades. Five weapons and some equipment can be upgraded.
Each level has a way to make a target's death look accidental—like rigging a grill to explode, dropping a chandelier, or pushing someone off a balcony. Agent 47 can improvise weapons like nail guns, toy air rifles, knives, screwdrivers, stilettos, swordsticks, fire extinguishers, hammers, and hedge clippers. A notoriety system tracks how easily NPCs recognize 47. Notoriety rises if he's caught on camera or seen committing murder, and falls with perfect missions. Players can reduce notoriety by destroying surveillance or bribing authorities. Notoriety from early missions affects later ones.
Quick Facts
- State
- autocollapse
- Title
- Hitman: Blood Money
- Developer
- IO Interactive / Feral InteractiveReprisal version developed by Feral Interactive. (Reprisal)
- Series
- Hitman
- Platforms
- Microsoft Windows · PlayStation 2 · Xbox · Xbox 360 · PlayStation 3 · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Android · iOS · Nintendo Switch
- Genre
- Stealth
- Modes
- Single-player
- Director
- property · P57
- Producer
- Helle Marijnissen
- Artist
- Tore Blystad
- Writer
- Greg Nagan
- Composer
- Jesper Kyd
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Hitman: Blood Money was announced in November 2004 with a scheduled release for Spring 2005, but was delayed into 2006. It was the first Hitman game released on the seventh generation of video game consoles (Xbox 360). The game was released on 26 May 2006 in Europe, 30 May in North America, and 1 June in Australia. It was made available on Steam in March 2007. High-definition ports were released in January 2013 as part of the Hitman HD Trilogy, and 4K remastered ports were released in 2019 as part of the Hitman HD Enhanced Collection. A mobile port titled Hitman: Blood Money — Reprisal was released for iOS and Android on 30 November 2023 and for Nintendo Switch on 25 January 2024.
Reader's Guide
Blood Money introduced several new features to the series, including the ability to climb over obstacles, improved unarmed combat, using NPCs as human shields, disposing of or concealing bodies, and a notoriety system. The notoriety system rises if 47 is captured on camera or witnessed committing murder, and affects later missions; players can reduce it by destroying surveillance equipment or bribery. Each level contains methods to make a target's death look like an accident. Upon mission completion, a newspaper article displays results, notoriety level, weapon usage, casualties, and witnesses. Players receive payment based on how cleanly the assassination is carried out, with silent killings receiving the highest payout. The game also introduced rival assassins and the ability to upgrade five featured weapons and some equipment.
Did You Know?
- Blood Money sold more than 2.1 million copies.
- The game introduced a notoriety system that rises if Agent 47 is captured on camera or witnessed committing murder.
- Each level contains a method to make the target's death look like an accident, such as rigging a chandelier to fall.
- A mobile port titled Hitman: Blood Money — Reprisal was released in November 2023 for iOS and Android.
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