This article has a talk page!This page details pre-release information and/or media for Hitman: Codename 47.
IO Interactive, the team behind Hitman: Codename 47, conceptualized a fantasy massively multiplayer online game entitled Rex Dominus; however, Danish film studio Nordisk Film, which IO Interactive was partnered with at the time, persuaded the team to cease production on Rex Dominus. They were asked instead to prove themselves by developing a run-and-gun action game. The game, inspired by John Woo movies like Hard Boiled and The Killer, was first pitched in 1998. The first levels of the final game all take place in Hong Kong, a hangover from the early story drafts. The team decided on releasing their new game for the PC since they were unable to acquire development kits for consoles, and were enticed by the rise of 3D hardware for the PC.1
Part of the development on the game, which had a working title of Hitman: The Game2, involved the creation of the Glacier game engine. Finding that standard death animations looked too static, IO Interactive went on to create real-time inverse kinematics for the falling bodies. The first versions ran terribly slowly until one of the programmers figured out a way to fake the whole calculation. This led to the first use of advanced ragdoll physics in a video game. This physics system caught the eyes of British publisher Eidos Interactive, and especially staff member Jonas Eneroth, who thought that the system could greatly benefit Codename 47's gameplay. Following six months of negotiations, a publishing deal was signed between IO Interactive and Eidos Interactive. Eneroth became executive producer on the project and had a hand in encouraging development team into changing the game's premise from the run-and-gun action into a stealth game.
Screenshots#
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The fat Chinese pimp is not present on this floor in the final game. Notice how the HUD shows empty hands when having nothing equipped, as opposed to the final game which shows... actual nothing. |
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An early model for Agent 47 with a blockier head and an early face texture. The HUD differs from that of the final game as it shows health as a percentage in the bottom-right corner. The Codename 47 Suit from Hitman 3 is based off this model, rather than the final game model; whether or not this was done on purpose is unknown. |
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A different outfit texture that is more blue and lacks the yellow stripes for the mercenaries fought in the missions Plutonium Runs Loose and Deadly Cargo. |
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This idle animation doesn't seem to exist in the final game. |
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Agent 47, with a face texture closer to the one we came to love in the final game. |
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An old and weird Asylum Patient outfit that looks more like a military outfit. |
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The 48 number on the chestplate seems to indicate Agent 47 was originally named 48. |
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A slender Agent 47 with the early face texture. |
E3 Trailer#
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Manual#
The game's manual includes an early render of Lee Hong, in which his hair is styled differently and lacks facial hair.
There's an early render of Agent 47 in the Controls section that matches his appearance in some pre-release screenshots.
It seems that by the time the manual was written, an arcade-like respawning system of sorts was in the game. If you die, you'd have to pay 3000 credits to continue. This was replaced in the final game by a less complicated system. 
Demo Tracks#
The official Hitman: Codename 47 soundtrack includes four unused tracks, three of which are early versions of existing tracks.
Hotel Music (Early Demo)#
An early version of the music used in the Traditions of the Trade mission. An electronic music piece with heavy use of synth beats and less drums as opposite to the final game version. Watch on YouTube
Rainforest (Early Demo)#
A completely different early version of the music used in the jungle missions. The Tribal-like drums differ. Watch on YouTube
Main Title (Original Slow Version)#
The original, slowed down version of the main title theme. Watch on YouTube
Atmosphere Demo#
The only bonus track that went unused in the final game, it has a similar intro like Hotel Music (Early Demo) but it's unknown if its an early take or an early version of one of the levels like Hong Kong, Harbor, or Hospital. Watch on YouTube