A new game in the Mafia series was announced to be in production at developer Hangar 13. The news was shared by the studio's general manager, Roman Hladík, as part of a developer interview celebrating the 20th anniversary of the franchise:
"I'm happy to confirm we've started work on an all-new Mafia project! 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."
Rumors from earlier this summer suggested that the newly announced game is a prequel to the original trilogy. XboxEra podcast host, and known insider Nick Baker stated on his May 14th show that, according to his sources, the next Mafia title would be set during the late 1800s to early 1900s and take place in Sicily, with a focus on Don Salieri from the first game. These claims are merely rumors at this point and should be treated as such, but they do pose an interesting potential future for both a franchise and developer in need of a boost. Kotaku reported in May that Hangar 13 had suffered dozens of staff layoffs across its worldwide offices, which were preceded by the departure of former studio head Haden Blackman.
The Mafia franchise first launched in 2002 with the original Mafia, which was remastered and re-released in 2020 as Mafia: Definitive Edition. It was followed by two proper sequels—2010’s Mafia II and 2016’s Mafia III. The second game was also remastered and re-released as Mafia II: Definitive Edition, with all three titles getting bundled together for 2020’s Mafia: Trilogy.
To pull you back in, publisher 2K has released a new Mafia 20th anniversary trailer:
