Part of that charm has to be attributed to voice actor David Bateson, who has provided the calm, cold, and calculated tone of Agent 47 for 17 years now. Recently, Bateson spoke with Game Rant about Agent 47, the Hitman series, and why both character and franchise have remained popular after nearly two decades.

One of the first questions we asked Bateson was about his involvement with Hitman over a span of 17 years. Bateson was quick to elaborate on the circumstances that have kept him returning to a series with a main character who demands a lot from his actor with very little dialogue to work with. Unsurprisingly, the game’s heavily-lauded level design was at the forefront of that interest:

Beyond the scope and complexity of Hitman games, however, Bateson also credited the intriguing nature of Agent 47 as something that draws him back in whenever a new Hitman game is announced:

How Bateson Becomes Agent 47

It’s an interesting answer from a man who has more insight into Agent 47 than perhaps anyone other than the character’s creators, and it could explain why the role of Agent 47 in the Hitman movie felt a little off without Bateson contributing some of the nuances to the international assassin. When asked about how someone even begins to get into the mindset of Agent 47, Bateson offered up a personal anecdote to help explain:

Perhaps it is that familiarity that has allowed Bateson to remain, inextricably, the voice of Agent 47 throughout his missions. Despite Bateson admitting that he “rarely [has] much time” to play Hitman games anymore - and his assertion that he doesn’t really need to play the games anymore to get into Agent 47’s mindset, given how long he has been doing it now - the man behind the sharp-dressed killer still finds himself drawn towards the series’ creative gameplay, especially now that it is released as episodic content:

It struck me – that’s why I love acting! I get to be other people. To feel what they feel and do what they do…though I have no experience of killing people, the closer you can get to that character by way of learning the lines they say or “pretending” to do the things they do, or in my case, having the luxury of having Agent 47 in my head for so many years, the closer you can get to feeling what that character feels. In Agent 47’s case, it’s often more what he doesn’t feel that’s interesting, coupled with his feeling of aloneness. I owe it to him to be absolutely loyal to his personality and not try to deliver his lines in ways which are simply not true to his character."

Hitman Goes Episodic

Bateson was clearly a fan of Hitman’s episodic content, then, despite the fact that it was rather controversial when IO Interactive and Square Enix first announced the business model for the newest Hitman. Despite that initial friction, however, the game’s episodic content has been very well received in execution, perhaps proving that an episodic content model for video games can be the norm in the future as long as it is done well.

It’s interesting to hear what someone who has been a part of both a traditional game release and an episodic model thinks about the strengths of the latter, and Bateson’s comments make a lot of sense. Thanks to the way Hitman was designed, the developers have been able to release content and gauge community response to see if it is worth doing more. That’s how Hitman got the Home Alone robbers as targets as part of a DLC release, for instance.

The success of Hitman’s episodic content, incidentally, should spell good things for the Final Fantasy 7 Remake that Square Enix has been working on so diligently. Final Fantasy 7 Remake will be episodic as well, and despite fans being resistant to that in the same way they were to Hitman’s announced business model, Square has proven it knows how to execute on Hitman - no pun intended.

Ultimately, however, Bateson believes the longevity of Hitman is something that should serve the series well in the future as well.

We’ll be honest - although Bateson was quick to say that his suggestion for Hitman’s future was “off the top” of his head, it sounds like just the thing to capitalize on the sudden success of virtual reality and alternate reality games. Fans of the franchise will have to hope that the voice of Agent 47 is heard loud and clear by the developers of Hitman as well.

Hitman is available now for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.