A new side-story has released onto the IOI account system, alongside a re-release of Overachievers. Both written by Michael Vogt (no, not that one), Lead Hitman writer, these are Expanded Universe side-stories that give more world building to the Hitman Universe.
Let’s discuss it!
Overall, like Overachievers, it’s not bad, but also like Overachievers, it’s pretty much just fanfiction. Sure, it’s fanfiction from the very people making the game, but that’s ultimately irrelevant.
Like Overachievers, it had one aspect included in it that doesn’t line up with what the actual games presented.
In this case, 47 going after his targets because it matters to Diana, and therefore it matters to him. That wasn’t the situation at the time this story takes place, which by the reveal at the end has to take place before the events of both Sarajevo Six and Patient Zero. 47 is still working for ICA at this point, and while Diana does still believe in justice and no one being untouchable at this point, per the cutscenes in H2, 47 was still not caring about any of it aside from doing his job.
Yes, he trusted Diana’s judgement that the targets he was pursuing had earned the price on their heads, and he and Diana were definitely friends by this point and not just coworkers, per the conclusions of Blood Money and Absolution. But 47 didn’t get personal with his work this time around until he learned who Lucas Grey really was, and then after the main campaign ended, he was now in alignment with Diana’s views of actively wanting to pursue those who avoided accountability. He didn’t care about the details, he trusted Diana for that, but he wasn’t at a point where it mattered to him because it mattered to her; that came after he remembered that he killed her parents and decided he wanted to keep being a hitman by his own choice.
So this story is adding something in that doesn’t align with the actual games and takes away the impact of 47’s later change of perspective of his work (which I’ve said before was an unnecessary change anyway, but that’s beside the point). So, as with Overachievers, while I can assume most of this story could be loosely considered canon, I cannot accept it as being so fully because of that inconsistency.
And before anyone says that these two stories are canon because IOI says it is, so were Enemy Within and Damnation at one point, but neither of which can possibly be now, especially with the release of WoA, so IOI’s claims to canonicity are malleable and subject to change, and the information provided in the games themselves must take priority over supplemental material.
I will say that I enjoy how we finally got a sort-of answer about one of the most enigmatic characters of the WoA era, though.
Uh…please do. That’s why the spoiler tag is there, ya dingus.
But, it’s a discussion thread. How are we supposed to discuss it if we’re censoring the conversation left and right?
For those checking in. Also common courtesy.
EDIT: I’ve amended the title.
Oi. 
If we must.
I’m not a huge fan of Overachievers but I think The Arm’s Length Principle is fantastic. I like the way CG is introduced and I like the pacing of the meeting and CG’s reaction to it. Now I do wonder whether the story is just a little treat for the fans or if CG will make an appearance in the next Hitman game. In any case I would love to see or read more of her.
On a different note, I deliberately kept the story references above vague, so I don’t need to use spoiler tags. Besides, I agree with Heisenberg that spoiler tags don’t invite a discussion in this thread.
How about you just put “Spoilers Ahead” in the title to warn people and we talk without hiding story references.
This was a really nice and pleasant read! Vogt is quick and simple writer, which isn’t a bad thing but I was hoping there would be more depth. I’m not a critic or anything so I don’t really know what to say, but I loved how self-contained this is.
In terms of lore it does offer a couple of the missing gaps. Over the last 2-3 years I’ve been hoping we would get an expansion into some of the lore regarding Khandanyang, and even if its something small like this I’m left very satisfied.
Another lore tidbit that we’ve been left gapped over the last 10 years is answered in that last line:
”You are Locksley. And you are going to change the world, one bad guy at a time.”
The grin I grinned when I read this line…
It’s 5 pages, free for everyone, and can be read within a browser. I don’t think we need to worry about spoilers.
Anyways, I found the explanation of how someone tracked down 47 to be very interesting, as a few random NPC dialogues in the Hitman 2 campaign kind of nodded at the fact that someone could, in theory, piece together the deaths of all of these high-profile individuals.
I was also quite surprised by this line, I started out thinking it was 47, then thought it was Diana, then thought it may have been someone in Providence or Grey’s Militia.
Finally, a new addition to the reading section of my Hitman archive.
Yes, I’m saving fan fictions too but I don’t plan on reading them. I can imagine what most of them are about.
Oh I’m glad you are still using the pfp I got for you! 
I liked it! I thought it was good. I know a lot of people, myself included, were interested to know more about that character, so it was nice to know more about them.
Thanks again, I never got the image of that rabbit out of my head since it’s been added to the game back in 2021.
As someone who is writing one that isn’t Diana/47 or smut… 
Okay, so my thoughts on the book. And I’m gonna say something this forum may find hard to believe.
But I agree with Heisenberg on their assessment on the story.
Not on all of what he said (character development is a necessary part of storytelling, so 47 always being the same isn’t satisfying in the long-term), but more on 47’s behaviour in general here. This part in particular:
Like, yeah, that’s entirely correct. 47 is guided by Diana, not the inverse. He doesn’t care about the leaders of Khandanyang or the machinations of anyone at this point, only being paid for being the best in the business. Diana and 47 are certainly partners, and they do seem to discuss kills (see Overachievers and Hitman 2), but not to the extent heard in the story.
Damnation was part of the culling of Absolution’s story that WOA retcons out, so that’s not exactly a fair assessment here. That was already the case. And some of Enemy Within still is, considering the comic series makes a direct reference to it, when it didn’t need to. Lots of media, particularly comic books, do retcon old stories to fit a new narrative. It’s not a good thing to do all the time, but it’s pretty obvious WOA was a reboot, so I find that argument a bit…off.
I quite enjoyed this short story, if nothing else but for the reveal of who the client is, as much as it pushed for 47’s inconsistent characterisation here. Or rather, outdated characterisation, as H2 and 3 superseded it by nine years of lore. I really wish this had been rewritten slightly to conform to the new lore, but alas.
Also, and this is an odd nitpick, but the original PDF for Overachievers had fancy backgrounds and looked like an old book. The new releases here look like a hastily-printed out homework project. The cover’s also changed too (though i’ll give that a pass, as it still keeps the same general style, and is at least consistent between the two stories).
Good lil’ read. Shame about the errors in the lore.
