The game continues the story arc started in Hitman, following genetically engineered assassin Agent 47 as he searches for the mysterious "Shadow Client" who is trying to destroy Providence, a secretive organization that controls global affairs.

Like its predecessor, the game is structured around six large sandbox locations that players can freely explore to find opportunities to eliminate their targets.

The base game features six different locations: New Zealand, Miami, Colombia, Mumbai, Vermont, and a fictional North Atlantic island called Sgàil.

Sales of 2016's Hitman fell short of expectations, prompting the series' publisher Square Enix to sell IO Interactive, which became an independent studio after a management buyout.

IO Interactive supported the game with additional content after release, including two paid maps and free elusive targets and contracts.

It received generally positive reviews, with most critics viewing it as an improvement over its predecessor and praising its varied locations, sandbox design, gameplay enhancements, humour and assassination opportunities.

Non-lethal takedowns, completion of objectives, accidental and unnoticed kills, and efficiency contribute to the players' score and XP earned.

This mode can be played solo or with other players, who will assume control of either Stone or Knight, characters who are equipped with concussive shockwave rounds and wall-piercing ammunition, respectively.

[22] Following the events of Hitman, Agent 47 embarks on a mission to find the mysterious "Shadow Client" for Providence, a secretive alliance of corporate executives, politicians, and industrialists collectively wielding political, military, and economic influence on the global scale.

He begins by killing Alma Reynard, one of the Shadow Client's top lieutenants, in her home in New Zealand, and Providence defectors Robert and Sierra Knox at a racetrack in Miami.

In Colombia, 47 assassinates Rico Delgado, Jorge Franco, and Andrea Martínez, leaders of a drug cartel who have been using their smuggling network and business connections to aid Grey and his militia.

Grey and his team blow up the headquarters of Ether Biotech Corporation in Johannesburg, kill its CEO, and steal an unidentified item, while his militia use a hostage situation to publicly reveal Providence's existence.

In Mumbai, 47 dismantles the militia's eastern cell by identifying and eliminating Grey's top lieutenant Wazir 'The Maelstrom' Kale and two of his associates, Vanya Shah and Dawood Rangan, who were responsible for the death of another Providence CEO.

[c] Grey reveals that he is also a genetically engineered clone created by Ort-Meyer, formerly known as Subject 6, and reminds 47 of their past friendship and vow to take revenge on those responsible for turning them into assassins.

During the mission to assassinate Janus as well as the head of his security detail, Nolan Cassidy (so as to avoid Cassidy contradicting the report), 47 finds evidence that he was planning to meet the current Constant at a gala held by the "Ark Society", a plutocratic survivalist group founded by Janus during his tenure as Constant.

The Partners, believing the report, coerce a resentful Constant into injecting himself with a chip that will release lethal poison into his body if he is compromised.

After Hall locates the gala on a remote North Atlantic island, 47 travels there to capture the Constant and kill Zoe and Sophia Washington, the Ark Society's newly appointed chairwomen, who each hold a trigger for the chip.

With the data acquired from the bank, Hall discovers the Partners paid large fees to Haven, a Maldives-based corporation that secretly creates new identities for wealthy criminals.

The game's predecessor, which had an episodic release, received critical acclaim but missed the sales expectations of franchise and studio owner Square Enix.

While preparing for game's production, in May 2017, Square Enix announced it had sold IO Interactive to concentrate resources on other studios.

[31] One of the design principles was to ensure each map would have spaces players could familiarize themselves with while providing an element of surprise by showing operations that are typically conducted in secret.

Like the first game, Agent 47 is a blank-state character and the story is mostly driven by his handler Diana Burnwood and Lucas Grey, both of whom have their own emotions, motivations and goals.

[37] David Bateson, who provides the voice of Agent 47, initially thought some of the dialogue was absurd but grew to appreciate it after understanding how mission stories work.

[54] Following the game's initial release, two paid expansions, each of which added new locations, missions, outfits, and weapons, were announced.

[55] A new Sniper Assassin map called Hantu Port set in Singapore was released as part of the first expansion on 26 March 2019.

[69][65] Caty McCarthy from USgamer praised IO for perfecting the formula established in its predecessor and said all levels reached the quality of Sapienza, which is widely recognized as Hitman's best map.

[68] Destructoid's Chris Carter agreed, and said "Hitman 2 is a colossal collection of puzzles begging to be solved through multiple playthroughs".

[63] McCarthy praised the dialogue of the mission stories, describing it as "sharper and funnier", and adding the script "adds to the silly fun of the Hitman universe".

McCaffery was disappointed by the overarching story; he called it "absurdly dumb" and poorly presented, and said the game's attempt at exploring Agent 47's backstory is as bad as that of the 2007 Hitman film.

[83] David Bateson was nominated for "Outstanding Video Game Character, Best Voiceover" for his performance as Agent 47 in Hitman 2 at the 2019 Society of Voice Arts And Sciences Awards.