Mafia: The Old Country not solely takes gamers again in time to the early 1900s, but in addition to a brand new place in Sicily. Game director Alex Cox lately talked about why the staff at Hangar 13 selected that setting and time for the brand new Mafia sport after the newest entries have been set in later time intervals of mob historical past.
Cox mentioned in an interview with Xbox that whereas the primary three Mafia video games explored totally different eras of the American mafia, the staff “liked the concept of heading to Sicily and exploring the early years of this fearsome crime group.”
For comparability, the unique Mafia occurred within the Thirties, with Mafia II choosing up within the Nineteen Forties. Mafia III, in the meantime, was set within the late Sixties.
Cox went on to say that making The Old Country has been a “refreshing departure” for Hangar 13, as its staffers started working on components of the “rugged Sicilian countryside” versus the busy cities of the opposite Mafia video games.
“Building this story has been an important expertise for everybody at Hangar 13–first studying about Sicilian historical past and the origins of the Mafia, then adapting that into an thrilling prison journey,” Cox mentioned.
In specific, although, Cox mentioned he is enthusiastic about components of the time interval, together with horses, classic automobiles, and knife duels. Taking place within the early 1900s means automobiles with hand-crank engines will seem in The Old Country, he mentioned. “We’ve by no means had the participant using on horseback earlier than! Galloping throughout the Sicilian countryside feels extremely liberating and is not like something we have accomplished previously,” Cox defined.
While no entry within the Mafia collection has been set fully in Sicily, the primary mission in Mafia II, titled The Old Country, takes gamers to Sicily in 1943.
Developers from Hangar 13 visited Sicily to get a firsthand feel and appear for the island and its tradition. Cox went on to say that Hangar 13 has been working with a “native Sicilian associate” that gave the studio “invaluable steerage.” The staff additionally consulted Sicilian historical past specialists to assist the builders nail down issues like era-appropriate bricks, music, and even swear phrases.
Because The Old Country is ready within the early 1900s, gamers will not have entry to fashionable weapons, so the sport goals to make fight really feel “extra tactical and deliberate.”
“We’ve leaned closely into the ‘instruments of the commerce’ of a Sicilian Mafioso, from lupara shotguns to stiletto blades. There’s actual grit to those older, extra conventional weapons,” Cox mentioned.
Finally, though The Old Country encompasses a new predominant solid of characters and goals to enchantment to newcomers to the collection, Cox mentioned current followers “will get a kick out of how Mafia: The Old Country connects to the remainder [of the franchise].”
The Old Country releases Summer 2025 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
