The classic mob action series, Mafia, is set to receive a new addition in 2025, a sequel exploring the gritty mob world of 1900s Sicily.
The game, now confirmed to be called Mafia: The Old Country, sets out to be a “cinematic experience”, telling the story of the young protagonist, Enzo, and the origins of the mafia on the island.
The Mafia series launched back in 2002 with a second game coming in 2010 and a third open-world based iteration in 2016. While the prequel will be based in Sicily, the first three games take place in fictional interpretations of American cities, Chicago, New York and New Orleans.
Release Date and Information
The highly anticipated addition to the Mafia franchise is set to be launched in summer 2025 and will be a prequel to the other games in the franchise.
The release date was announced at the 2024 Game Award’s where a longer second trailer was displayed to the eager crowd.
The game’s summer release means it will have to compete with what could be the biggest game release of all time, GTA 6.
While relatively little is known about the release of the new game, we do know that it will be released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Rumours and New Additions
Hanger 13, the game’s developers, are set to move away from Mafia 3’s open-world style, reverting back to action-adventure gameplay with a linear storyline.
The developers stress that “authenticity is at the heart” of the new game, focussing on world-building, using the game’s beautiful unreal engine 5 graphics engine and “fully localized voice acting in Sicilian to match the setting and time period” and fully immerse the player in the story.
The game explores the origins of the organised crime in Italy, following the story of a young Sicilian Enzo Favera, as he takes his oath to join the Torrisi family and enters into the “brutal underworld” of 1900s Sicily.
Previous fan theories expected the story to revolve around a younger Don Salieri, the main antagonist in the first Mafia, as he emigrated from Sicily to America in 1908.
While the story may be fronted by a new face, fans are still hopeful to see, or atleast hear of, some of the old fan-favourites of the series.
It has been rumoured that the game will span a much longer time period than previous entries, taking place over a decade with a focus on “empire building”, allowing players to buy land and expand their operations with businesses and casinos.
Fans on Reddit also pointed that the time period and setting would allow for an exploration of one of the original game’s protagonist’s backstory and family. Tommy Angelo emigrated from Sicily in 1904, meaning that if the story is set at the dawn of the 1900s, it is more than possible that a very young Tommy, or his family, could make an appearance.
