The next entry in open-world crime series Mafia is officially in development, though it’s still “a few years away” from release.
“I’m happy to confirm we’ve started working on an all-new Mafia project,” Roman HladÃk, general manager of developer Hangar 13, says in a 20th anniversary retrospective (opens in new tab) on the series. “While it’s a few years away and we can’t share anything more right now, we’re really excited to keep working on this beloved franchise and to entertain our players with new stories.”
That’s all the official information we have right now, but early reports of a new Mafia game started circulating earlier this year. Those reports suggest the new game would be developed in Unreal Engine 5 as a prequel to the existing trilogy. Even if that reporting was accurate, details are certainly apt to change during development.
That report came alongside news of a number of high-profile departures at Hangar 13, including studio head Haden Blackman and chief operating officer Matthew Urban.
All three entries in the Mafia series have focused on semi-historical American settings, set in fictionalized versions of cities like Chicago, New York, and New Orleans from the 1930s through the 1960s. If you want to see how the series got started, the original Mafia is set to be available for free on Steam (opens in new tab) starting September 1. That’s the true original – Mafia: Definitive Edition is currently on sale (opens in new tab)however.
Mafia has built its own identity over the years, but the series is still one of many sets of games like GTA to give you that open-world crime fix.