# Agent 47
**Agent 47** is a fictional character and the player protagonist of the *Hitman* video game franchise developed by the Danish studio [IO Interactive](https://www.edgepedia.org/io-interactive)[1](https://cms6.revize.com/revize/highlandparkil/government/city_departments/city_manager_s_office/city_clerk/docs/Emails%20regarding%20incident%20July%206%2C%2010-10.59am.pdf). He is a genetically engineered clone created as the 47th of a cloning project run by Dr. Ort-Meyer, produced from the combined DNA of five men known as the "Five Fathers" in an underground cloning laboratory disguised as a sanitarium in Romania[2](https://hitman.fandom.com/wiki/Agent_47). He first appeared in *Hitman: Codename 47* in 2000 and has since led a franchise of eight mainline games, several spinoffs, and two film adaptations[3](https://ioi.dk/en-us/about?panel=job%3Fid%3D6692867) • [4](https://www.svg.com/317672/the-entire-hitman-timeline-explained/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| First appearance | *Hitman: Codename 47*, released in 2000 by IO Interactive[3](https://ioi.dk/en-us/about?panel=job%3Fid%3D6692867) |
| Origin | 47th clone of Dr. Ort-Meyer's project, created from the DNA of five men in a Romanian laboratory disguised as a sanitarium[2](https://hitman.fandom.com/wiki/Agent_47) |
| Affiliation | Assassin for the ICA (International Contract Agency), with Diana Burnwood as his handler[5](https://ioi.dk/hitman/the-cast) |
| Signature traits | Bald head with a bar code tattoo, master of disguises, targets die in staged "tragic accidents" with a perfect ICA record[5](https://ioi.dk/hitman/the-cast) |
| Mainline games | Codename 47 (2000), Silent Assassin (2002), Contracts (2004), Blood Money (2006), Absolution (2012), HITMAN (2016), HITMAN 2 (2018), HITMAN 3 (2021)[3](https://ioi.dk/en-us/about?panel=job%3Fid%3D6692867) |
| Other media | Spinoffs such as *Hitman Go* and *[Hitman: Sniper](https://www.edgepedia.org/hitman-sniper)*, and two film adaptations including *Hitman: Agent 47* (2015)[4](https://www.svg.com/317672/the-entire-hitman-timeline-explained/) • [6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hitman-agent-47-2015) |
| Constant companions | Agent 47 and Diana Burnwood are the only characters to appear in every *Hitman* video game[2](https://hitman.fandom.com/wiki/Agent_47) |
## Character and abilities
IO Interactive's official cast description calls Agent 47 the world's top assassin: exceptionally intelligent, with superior instincts and reflexes, a pattern recognition expert, a master of disguises, and a social chameleon who is "rarely noticed and never remembered"[5](https://ioi.dk/hitman/the-cast). As a result of his tragic past, 47 lacks empathy and is acutely aware of it; the studio describes him as having "outsourced" his conscience to his long-time handler, Diana Burnwood[5](https://ioi.dk/hitman/the-cast).
His signature method, developed with Diana, is for targets to die in tragic accidents or vanish without a trace, with contracts carried out with surgical precision and zero collateral damage. For this reason 47 holds a perfect ICA record and remains, at the very most, an urban legend[5](https://ioi.dk/hitman/the-cast). His most recognizable physical features are his bald head and the bar code on the back of it, established in the first game[7](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hitman-codename-47-review/1900-2658770/).
## Origins in the fiction
The character's backstory has been revealed gradually. The first game established him as a lab-grown super soldier working for the ICA[8](https://www.greenmangaming.com/intel-feature/hitman-2/history-of-the-hitman-franchise/), and the 2016 relaunch and 2018's *[Hitman 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/hitman-2-2018-video-game)* explored his birth, childhood, and early years in more depth, as did the comic book miniseries *Agent 47: Birth of the Hitman*[4](https://www.svg.com/317672/the-entire-hitman-timeline-explained/). The comics depict 47 forming a brotherly relationship with a fellow clone named 6, together an impressive team of assassins; 6 reappears in the games as Lucas Grey, the Shadow Client[2](https://hitman.fandom.com/wiki/Agent_47) • [5](https://ioi.dk/hitman/the-cast).
## Evolution across the games
**Codename 47 (2000).** IO Interactive's first major achievement, built on the studio's own Glacier engine, received praise for its intricate design and innovative gameplay[3](https://ioi.dk/en-us/about?panel=job%3Fid%3D6692867). The game pioneered a stealth approach built on open, real-world scenarios and disguises such as guards, waiters, and busboys rather than gadgets and sci-fi bases, though it was criticized for its punishing difficulty, lack of in-mission saves, and a protagonist with little warmth or interest[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/).
**Silent Assassin to Blood Money (2002–2006).** *Hitman 2: Silent Assassin* (2002) gave 47 a story arc, pulling him out of a Sicilian monastery back into the business, with more open levels and more routes, tools, and disguises[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/). *[Hitman: Contracts](https://www.edgepedia.org/hitman-contracts)* (2004) reworked levels from the first game with the polish of the second[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/). *Hitman: Blood Money* (2006) is still regarded as a classic stealth game, with expansive levels, crowds, and a vein of jet-black humor that recast 47 as an assassin who appreciated irony rather than a cold, psychopathic killer[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/).
**Absolution (2012).** After the team spent years on the *Kane & Lynch* games, *Hitman: Absolution* sharpened 47's shooting and close combat and made its areas feel alive with background detail, but its more linear structure and prominent narrative disappointed die-hard fans[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/) • [10](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/hitman-25-interview-2025). Its Contracts mode, which let players build and share their own assassination scenarios, pointed toward the series' future[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/).
**The World of Assassination trilogy (2016–2021).** The episodic 2016 reboot, followed by *HITMAN 2* (2018) and *HITMAN 3* (2021), turned each expansive level into a replayable sandbox of snipers, saboteurs, poisoners, and stranglers[9](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/). In 2023 IO combined the three games into a single package, *HITMAN World of Assassination*, in which the player, as Agent 47, infiltrates 22 bespoke sandboxes to find and execute targets, ideally without being noticed[3](https://ioi.dk/en-us/about?panel=job%3Fid%3D6692867) • [11](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/virtual-reality-gaming/hitman-world-of-assassination-psvr-2-review).
## Gameplay role and design
The games place the player in sandbox environments and invite creative ways to eliminate a predetermined target, from stealthy accidents to public, high-collateral explosions[12](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/994464/1/Ekers_MA_F2024.pdf). This creates a deliberate tension with the fiction: cutscenes present 47 as an assassin whose kills appear as tragic accidents, and the games resolve the mismatch by treating a single canonical ending as the official account of each target's death, regardless of how the player actually performed the mission[12](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/994464/1/Ekers_MA_F2024.pdf).
## Other media
The character has been adapted to film twice. *Hitman* (2007) was followed by *[Hitman: Agent 47](https://www.edgepedia.org/hitman-agent-47)* (2015), in which [Rupert Friend](https://www.edgepedia.org/rupert-friend) played the title character, a genetically engineered assassin whose genetic engineering was supervised by a character named Litvenko[6](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hitman-agent-47-2015) • [13](https://www.archbalt.org/movie-review-hitman-agent-47/?print=pdf). Reviewers generally found the films less successful than the games at capturing a character defined by stealth and methodical planning rather than run-and-gun action[14](https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/45049/Dimitrova-V.A.-429100vd-.pdf).
## Legacy
Agent 47 has become one of gaming's most recognizable figures, with few heads in the medium as identifiable as his[15](https://www.gameinformer.com/games/hitman/b/pc/archive/2015/09/02/technology-is-responsible-for-agent-47-s-iconic-bald-hitman-head.aspx). The franchise's longevity rests on the formula established in 2000 and refined since: a puzzle-like stealth sandbox in which the player, as 47, engineers elaborate deaths for high-value targets[11](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/virtual-reality-gaming/hitman-world-of-assassination-psvr-2-review). IO Interactive, independent from [Square Enix](https://www.edgepedia.org/square-enix) since 2017, has carried the character's design lessons into new projects, including the [James Bond](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-bond) origin story *007 First Light*, whose developers contrast Bond's relatability with 47's status as an object of "absurd fascination"[3](https://ioi.dk/en-us/about?panel=job%3Fid%3D6692867) • [16](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action/007-first-lights-bond-is-more-relatable-than-hitmans-agent-47-says-developer-rather-than-an-object-of-absurd-fascination-hes-an-object-of-emotional-relation/).
## References
1. [Highland Park, IL city clerk document quoting the description of Agent 47 as the Hitman franchise protagonist](https://cms6.revize.com/revize/highlandparkil/government/city_departments/city_manager_s_office/city_clerk/docs/Emails%20regarding%20incident%20July%206%2C%2010-10.59am.pdf)
2. [Agent 47, Hitman Wiki (Fandom)](https://hitman.fandom.com/wiki/Agent_47)
3. [The story of IO Interactive, IOI official site](https://ioi.dk/en-us/about?panel=job%3Fid%3D6692867)
4. [The Entire Hitman Timeline Explained, SVG](https://www.svg.com/317672/the-entire-hitman-timeline-explained/)
5. [The Cast, HITMAN, IOI official site](https://ioi.dk/hitman/the-cast)
6. [Hitman: Agent 47 movie review, RogerEbert.com](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/hitman-agent-47-2015)
7. [Hitman: Codename 47 Review, GameSpot](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/hitman-codename-47-review/1900-2658770/)
8. [A History of the Hitman Games, Green Man Gaming](https://www.greenmangaming.com/intel-feature/hitman-2/history-of-the-hitman-franchise/)
9. [Hitman: the evolution of Agent 47, Den of Geek](https://www.denofgeek.com/games/hitman-the-evolution-of-agent-47/)
10. [Hitman developers on 25 years of the iconic stealth franchise, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/hitman-25-interview-2025)
11. [Hitman World of Assassination PSVR 2 review, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/gaming/virtual-reality-gaming/hitman-world-of-assassination-psvr-2-review)
12. [Ekers, M.A. thesis on ludic-narrative dissonance, Concordia University](https://spectrum.library.concordia.ca/994464/1/Ekers_MA_F2024.pdf)
13. [Movie Review: 'Hitman: Agent 47', Archdiocese of Baltimore](https://www.archbalt.org/movie-review-hitman-agent-47/?print=pdf)
14. [Dimitrova, V.A., Adapting motion pictures from video games successfully, Erasmus University thesis](https://thesis.eur.nl/pub/45049/Dimitrova-V.A.-429100vd-.pdf)
15. [Technology Is Responsible For Agent 47's Iconic Bald Head, Game Informer](https://www.gameinformer.com/games/hitman/b/pc/archive/2015/09/02/technology-is-responsible-for-agent-47-s-iconic-bald-hitman-head.aspx)
16. [007 First Light's Bond is more "relatable" than Hitman's Agent 47, GamesRadar](https://www.gamesradar.com/games/action/007-first-lights-bond-is-more-relatable-than-hitmans-agent-47-says-developer-rather-than-an-object-of-absurd-fascination-hes-an-object-of-emotional-relation/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › In-game subjects: characters, levels, items, and locations within single games › Playable and protagonist characters*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license