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Mafia 2 and Mafia 3 are coming to PS5 and Xbox Series consoles with some prettier graphics, according to an ESRB rating. Both games are rated Mature 17+ by the board, with each title featuring violence, nudity, and so… many… slurs.
Previously, Mafia: Definitive Edition released for modern consoles in September 2020. A full-blown, ground-up remake of the original 2002 game, it acted as a great starting point for people jumping into the series for the first time. Mafia 2 and 3 Definitive Editions already exist for the last-gen consoles, so these listings presumably relate to current-gen upgrades that will, hopefully, include 60fps gameplay, rather than full-blown remakes.
Publisher 2K recently released the Mafia: The Omertà Collection, which includes all the Definitive Editions alongside Mafia: The Old Country Definitive Edition. This launched alongside a PS5 and Xbox Series update to Mafia: Definitive Edition that seems likely to be replicated for Mafia 2 and 3.
Interest in the series is at a new high following the release of Mafia: The Old Country earlier this year. A prequel story set at the height of the mob’s power in Italy, it followed the series’ template of plonking players into an open world that serves as a backdrop to the story, rather than a character in it.
IGN’s Mafia: The Old Country review scored it an 8/10, and called the game an “effective return to the linear and tightly story-driven format of the original Mafia and Mafia 2.” Mafia 3 split critics at launch because it leaned into its open world and made players complete repeatable missions to capture territory and progress the story. Amazing soundtrack, though.
Hangar 13 president Nick Baynes previously told IGN that Mafia and GTA — despite sharing a parent company — exist in two separate camps. “I think that genuinely at the studio, we’ve got our own path,” Baynes said. “It genuinely never ever comes up in conversation as a touchpoint or steering our strategy or anything like that.”
The ESRB posting doesn’t give much away, besides rehashing themes you’d expect from a game series named after an organized crime group. It’ll be interesting to see which side of GTA 6’s release date this November these Definitive Editions end up. Because while the games are fairly different, the audience only has limited disposable income and that choice has probably already been made if the games land anywhere near each other.
IGN just put out a big GTA 6 interview with Rockstar North studio head Rob Nelson, in which we spoke to him as he played a section of the game in front of us. Nelson spoke about its approach to open world design, and creating a game where “just existing” is a viable playstyle, living in Vice City and playing it almost like a life simulator.
It’s a very different approach to Mafia, in which the open world is simply a backdrop to the story. Still, isn’t it great that we live in a world where both approaches are viable and we get to experience it all?
A Mafia 2 and Mafia 3: Definitive Edition announcement is likely imminent, either way. My best guess would be The Game Awards this December, with a launch early next year. While you wait to find out, check out IGN’s in-depth feature, 25 Years of Mafia Video Games: An Oral History.
