IO Interactive announced a new Elusive Target mission for Hitman: World of Assassination featuring Eminem’s Slim Shady persona as the target. Players will hunt and eliminate a digital version of Slim Shady in a time-limited contract that runs alongside a month-long free-play period for the game.
The collaboration directly mirrors Eminem’s 2024 album The Death of Slim Shady (Coup de Grâce). That album’s core concept involved Eminem symbolically killing off his notorious alter ego from the late 90s and early 2000s. Now, IO Interactive has made that death literal by turning Slim Shady into an assassinable target.
Elusive Targets are special time-limited contracts in Hitman that disappear after a set window. Players get one attempt to complete the objective. Fail or miss the window, and the mission is gone until IO brings it back.
IO Interactive has run celebrity Elusive Targets since 2016, turning real people into fictional assassination contracts. Past collaborations included Sean Bean as an unkillable target who kept surviving attacks, JCVD in a clone-themed mission, Bruce Lee in a martial arts-focused contract, and a James Bond-themed mission featuring Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre. One previous target featuring Conor McGregor was later removed from sale entirely following the fighter’s legal troubles.
The missions exist as non-canon side content separate from Hitman‘s main story. They lean into the game’s dark comedy tone, which has previously featured absurd kills like dropping chandeliers on targets and disguising Agent 47 in flamingo costumes.
Mom’s spaghetti meets contract killing
The free-play period gives new players access to all Hitman: World of Assassination content for a month. The offer targets Eminem fans unfamiliar with the series alongside lapsed Hitman players looking for new content.
After the live event period ends, the Eminem mission will likely become purchasable DLC for permanent access through the Elusive Target Arcade mode.
