Hangar 13, a California-based subsidiary of 2K Games, is developing a new Mafia game. A senior studio executive confirmed the news earlier today, while also reflecting on the 20th anniversary of the Mafia franchise.
The latest entry in the series was Mafia 3, which will be turning six this October and also happens to be the very first game developed by Hangar 13. The studio then turned to Mafia: Definitive Edition, a remake of the 2002 original which was released on PC, PS4, and Xbox One back in 2020. While it's common to use remakes to gauge public interest in long-running franchises before committing to sequels, that might not have been the case here, seeing how Mafia 3 was a record-breaking commercial success for 2K in spite of its mixed critical reception.
In an interview commemorating the 20th anniversary of the franchise, Hangar 13 General Manager Roman Hladík confirmed that the next Mafia game is already in development. The executive described the project as an "all-new" endeavor based on "new stories," but didn't go so far as to give it an official title. The only other detail he shared about Mafia 4—or whatever the next game ends up being called—was that the title is still "a few years away" from release. Regardless, the implication is that Hangar 13 started development around the time Mafia: Definitive Edition went gold in mid-2020.
Hladík also reflected on his 25 years with the company that originally started as a four-person indie studio from the Czech Republic called Illusion Softworks. He was a character artist for the original Mafia before being promoted to an art director for Mafia 2. He's been in his current executive role since Mafia 3 began development circa 2011.
The low-key nature of today's announcement is reminiscent of the way Take-Two Interactive handled the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto 6 confirmation earlier this year. Both titles were simply confirmed to be in development with pretty much nothing in the way of additional details. That said, GTA 6 seems to be closer to release than the fourth Mafia game.
It was only a few months ago that Hangar 13 went through major layoffs, downsizing its 87-strong California division by around 60%. The company does have three additional studios around the world, though not all of them were necessarily focused on the Mafia franchise, with at least one outlet previously working on another, now-canceled project. However, the current state of its headquarters would suggest that the next Mafia game has only recently left the pre-production stage, so the few-years-away timeline given by Hladík is either optimistic, intentionally vague, or both.
Mafia is in development.
Source: Mafia Game
