There is a very grim moment in the mission where Finn Colton “looksmaxxes,” and Hitman World the senior-level designer behind Assassin’s Creed: Shadows says Jacksepticeye provided the team full freedom to make him as wicked as they wanted.

the newest Elusive Target in Hitman World of Assassination mission features YouTuber Jacksepticeye, and he gave IO Interactive permission to shape his character, Finn Colton, “as evil as we wanted.”

That is according to senior level designer Martin Ansdal, who spoke about the behind-the-scenes development of the Elusive Target assignments in an interview. The developer said Seán William McLoughlin, also known as Jacksepticeye, “seemed genuinely excited” to appear in The Host, since it is a franchise he grew up with, and allowed the team to go as far as possible with his character.

Jacksepticeye immediately gave us complete freedom to portray him as menacing as we liked and to invent the trademark eliminations exactly how we saw fit,” Ansdal said. “Some celebrities are, understandably, a bit uneasy when they’re shown in the context of the game, but Seán was asking us specifically to push it further. I’d like to thought we mirrored his vibe and went all out in.”

For this Elusive Target mission, Ansdal said the crew traveled to the Brighton office to meet with Seán “very early in development,” which also indicated that “he had considerably more input on the mission design.”

He added several small details, including the beeping the cameras content creators use produce when they are remotely activated, the developer said. “There is a dimly lit moment in the mission where Finn Colton tries to sharpen his appearance while replaying his old audition tapes. For this we had to get Seáto perform the voice of a child, a behind-the-scenes experience that was far more amusing than the in-game moment’s horror would imply.”

For these missions, the senior level designer said the work is a partnership between him and the writer, since each Hitman mission includes a branching story and multiple creative ways to remove a target, along with “a vast ambient script to ensure the mission preserves player choice and replay.”

• Usually the team records the celebrity only once, so the script is streamlined heavily.
• Supporting cast members then fill in any missing parts.
• The goal is to keep the mission flexible while still keeping the target’s role clear.

Ansdal continued by saying he was “incredibly impressed with Seán’s performance given that he is not a traditional actor,” and that he is “incredibly affable and charming,” since he is accustomed to channeling that energy through the screen in his videos, which functions as a form of performance in itself.”

“We worked to bring out that quality in his script because we felt it would provide the best result,” he added.