Hangar 13 dropped a bombshell at Gamescom with the reveal of Mafia The Old Country. The new game takes the series back in time, setting the stage in 1900s Sicily, long before the events of the previous titles.
This fresh installment seems like a soft reboot, diving deep into the origins of the mob and returning to what fans loved about the series: gritty, story-driven crime tales. Scheduled for release in 2025, the game looks to be an immersive open-world experience that fans of the franchise have been craving for a while now.
A Return to Mafia’s Roots
At Gamescom Opening Night Live, the anticipation was high as Hangar 13 revealed The Old Country after months of rumors. The trailer sets the tone with scenes from early 20th-century Sicily, showing a world ripe with tension, tradition, and inevitable violence.
— Tyler Gorash (@TurbidTG1) August 20, 2024
The game looks to bring back the intense atmosphere and linear narrative style that made the series popular, while also introducing an expansive open world set in Sicily’s rugged landscape. The weapons featured in the trailer – a knife, a handgun, and a double-barrelled shotgun – indicate that this game will be as brutal and action-packed as its predecessors.
In a press release, Nick Baynes, the head of Hangar 13, explained that The Old Country is more than just a step back in time. It’s a return to the franchise’s core elements, focusing on the roots of organized crime.
After exploring different eras of mob life in the previous three games, this new entry aims to tell an origin story, giving players a deeper understanding of the Mafia’s beginnings. With its strong narrative focus and a fresh setting, the game is definitely shaping up to be a solid installment in the franchise whose last mainline game was quite rough.
What’s Next for Mafia Fans?
The trailer was just the beginning. Hangar 13 and publisher 2K have more in store, with plans to reveal additional details later this year, likely at The Game Awards in December.
This timing hints that The Old Country will be one of the big names to watch in 2025, releasing alongside other heavy hitters from 2K like Borderlands 4, and even GTA VI if it doesn’t get delayed.
Before this exciting reveal, the last game fans of the franchise got their hands on was Mafia: Definitive Edition, released in September 2020. That game was a full remake of the original 2002 title, updating everything from the graphics to the gameplay while staying true to the story that made the game a hit.
Now, with The Old Country, Hangar 13 is ready to explore new territory in a new time period while staying true to the franchise’s roots of solid writing, characters, and world-building.
How excited are you for the newest entry in the series? Let us know in the comments!
