Every time you think you’re out, they pull you back in. That’s right, it’s time to dust off your Italian suits and reload your sawed-off shotgun because Mafia: The Old Country is about to make you an offer you can’t refuse.
The Mafia: The Old Country announcement took everyone by surprise when it showed up at Gamescom 2024, but certainly not in a bad way. This gangster franchise was once thought of as a Grand Theft Auto knock-off but grew to form an identity all its own.
Most of us had given up hope for the series returning after the last game, while some held out hope for Mafia 4 news. Instead, developer Deck 13 has ditched the numbering scheme and is taking the series back to its roots.
For all the Mafia: The Old Country news, rumors, features, trailers, release window, and more, look no further.
Mafia: The Old Country Expected Release Date
Expected Release Date: 2025
The Mafia: The Old Country teaser didn’t share any release date details. However,the official website indicates when we could expect the title in 2025, albeit vaguely.
The Mafia: The Old Country release window is sometime in 2025. We can get a bit more specific, though. The official press release specifies the game will come out during publisher Take-Two’s Fiscal Year 2026. For those who don’t track Take-Two’s fiscal years, this would mean the game is planned to be released between April 1 and December 31, 2025.
That’s still quite a range for the Mafia: The Old Country release date, but it at least rules out the early months of the year. Looking back to the older titles gives us a rough idea, too. Mafia: Definitive Edition dropped in September 2020, and Mafia 3 was released in October 2016, so we could reasonably expect a release window of either the end of Q3 or Q4 2025 for Mafia 4.
Mafia: The Old Country Pre-orders
No Pre-orders Are Live For The Upcoming Sandbox Crime Game Yet
Sadly, Mafia: The Old Country pre-orders are not available yet. Typically, games don’t announce pre-order information until they have a firm release date. This means we could be waiting until the early months of 2025 for anything concrete before we can put any money down.
If you want to be informed when any Mafia: The Old Country news regarding pre-orders is released, you can wishlist the game on PlayStation, Xbox, or PC via Steam through the game’s official website.
Mafia: The Old Country Price
Expected Price: $70
There’s no indication that Mafia: The Old Country price will be anything less than the current industry standard of $70. The last installment in the franchise, Mafia: Definitive Edition, debuted at $40 with its ground-up remake. There’s a possibility the fourth game will follow suit, but given that was four years ago, it does seem unlikely.
Coming from 2K, which publishes other hit series like Borderlands, Civilization, and all the 2K sports series, we expect at least two or three versions of this Mafia 4 game at different price points. As soon as official pricing and version details are released, we will be sure to update you.
Mafia: The Old Country Platforms
Confirmed for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC
One of the few solid Mafia: The Old Country details we did get from the trailer was what platforms the game would be releasing on.
Confirmed Mafia: The Old Country platforms are PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam. This makes it a current-gen exclusive, ruling out the PS4, Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch. Considering the age of those systems, however, it’s not entirely surprising.
The yet unannounced Nintendo Switch successor could be a possible fourth platform; however, that will all depend on how demanding the game ends up being and how powerful this console is. Mafia: Definitive Edition was quite the looker even by 2020 standards on the Illusion Engine, and current rumors suggest that Mafia: The Old Country could be utilizing Unreal Engine 5 (via Gaming Bible), which would push the visual spectacle much further.
Mafia: The Old Country Trailers
Game Was Revealed at Gamescom 2024
The Mafia: The Old Country announcement is short and sweet, but it did at least set the record straight that this isn’t specifically a Mafia 4 trailer.
The trailer is said to be captured in-engine but doesn’t show any real gameplay. This implies the game is targeting graphics on this level, though it likely won’t actually look this good when you’re playing it.
The camera pans around an Italian home with admittedly cliche mafia iconography, such as a sawed-off shotgun, a bottle of wine and grapes, and a knife stuck into a desk. A man with a thick Italian accent narrates the mafia’s tenants before asking “you” if you are willing to fully dedicate yourself to the family.
The final shot takes us outside to reveal the new setting for the game, Sicily, as we get the title drop. Some are speculating a connection between this game and the first Mafia title. Throughout the Mafia: The Old Country trailer, we never see the identity of the narrator which has led some to theorize that it is Don Peppone bringing a young Don Salieri into the family.
Don Salieri was a major character in the first Mafia game who, we learned, immigrated to the United States in 1908. Based on the 1903 date on the wine bottle, the events of this game could be what caused him to leave Sicily and set off the events of the first game.
Again, this is all conjecture, so take it with a grain of salt.
Mafia: The Old Country News
Game Has Only Just Been Revealed, so News is Light
Considering how fresh the announcement trailer is, Mafia: The Old Country news beyond that is quite scarce.
The biggest thing to look forward to at the moment is December, as the trailer ends, promising our next look at the game at the end of the year. If we were to make an educated guess, we would assume this means the first look at Mafia: The Old Country gameplay will show up during The Game Awards.
While somewhat minor, the official Mafia Game X (formerly Twitter) account did reveal one very interesting Mafia: The Old Country feature in the form of language options. “Authenticity is at the heart of the Mafia franchise, and Mafia: The Old Country will offer voice acting in Sicilian, inline with the game’s setting in 1900s Sicily. Additionally, Italian language localization will be available for both in-game UI and via subtitles”.
That’s a fantastic touch that allows people to feel fully immersed in the game’s time period and location. It sounds as though this latest entry into the franchise could be a more sophisticated take on a series that fans have loved for decades. If Hanger 13 can pull it off, then we could have the makings of one of the best crime open world games yet.
What is Mafia: The Old Country?
Mafia: The Old Country is effectively the Mafia 4 game we never got. The reason the studio likely decided to forgo the original naming convention and instead add a subtitle is that this game will be a prequel.
Ditching the American setting used in the first three games, this time we will “Uncover the origins of organized crime in Mafia: The Old Country, a gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily.”
Further details state that the game will be faithful to what fans loved about the original games and deliver a deep drama with a “linear narrative with that classic mob movie feeling, visiting a stunning new setting, and delivering it all in a tight, focused package perfect for fans of immersive experiences.”
Most of that is quite unspecific in terms of what Mafia: The Old Country gameplay will actually be like, but it does sound quite different from the direction the series had been taking.
Each Mafia game has been an open-world sandbox experience, somewhat like a GTA title. The main difference is the time periods of the 1930s, 1940s, and 1960s for the first three games, respectively. While the main story was focused on crafting a compelling mobster adventure, there were side activities and optional things to do in the world.
While it doesn’t outright say that Mafia: The Old Country won’t be open-world, the phrasing of things like a linear narrative and tight package may imply a more level-based game or perhaps just a much smaller hub rather than a sprawling open world.
We expect the Mafia: The Old Country gameplay to stick to the traditional third-person style, with weapons and locations authentic to the new time and setting.
The Bottom Line
A prequel taking us back to the start has a ton of potential and, if done right, could rank among the best in the long-running franchise’s history.
While little is known precisely about Mafia: The Old Country other than its existence through a trailer and some developer information, it all sounds incredibly promising. It’s been over eight years since the trilogy ended and over four years since the first game was remastered, so fans have been waiting patiently for something new.
FAQs
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References
- Mafia: The Old Country (Store.playstation)
- Buy Mafia: The Old Country | Xbox (Xbox)
- Mafia: The Old Country on Steam (Store.steampowered)
- Mafia 4 has started development, will use Unreal Engine 5 (Gamingbible)
- Mafia Game on X (X)