Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick is teasing a bright future for the Mafia franchise after this year’s prequel, Mafia: The Old Country, “performed well ahead of expectations.”
Zelnick spoke about the future of 2K Games’ long-running open-world crime series during an interview with IGN ahead of Take-Two's Q2 financial report (the one with the latest GTA 6 delay). As developer Hangar 13 prepares to release new content and updates following The Old Country’s launch in August, the Take-Two boss teased that fans may eventually have more Mafia to look forward to.
“Definitely,” Zelnick said when asked if The Old Country performed well enough to instill confidence to continue the franchise. “We’re really excited about Mafia, and I think that’s a great question because it is sort of a reset for the franchise. We don’t have anything to announce — that comes from the label — but it definitely performed well ahead of expectations."
It sounds like the decision to sell Mafia: The Old Country at a cheaper than expected $49.99 price point paid off, then. Fans praised The Old Country's $50 price tag when it was confirmed, and publisher 2K and developer Hangar 13 managed expectations by stressing pre-launch that it was absolutely not a Grand Theft Auto-style open-world game, but a linear, narrative-driven game.
Take-Two stopped short of providing exact sales figures but said the early 1900s Sicily-set Mafia “quickly surpassed our internal expectations and affirmed our belief that consumer demand remains strong for premium, narrative-driven experiences that over-index on value.” Although it’s unclear when or how another Mafia game could materialize in the future, more new content and updates for The Old Country are confirmed to be in the works.
Mafia: The Old Country launched in August as a prequel for the crime drama video game franchise that first got its start with the original Mafia in 2002. The series saw semi-regular releases up until the launch of the divisive Mafia 3 in 2016, with only a group of well-received definitive edition remasters arriving to break up the wait for more in 2020. After nearly a decade of waiting for a new entry, it sounds like fans won't have to wait quite as long for more.
Hangar 13 and 2K propped The Old Country up as a fresh start for Mafia when it released earlier this year, and it appears to be a plan that’s panning out. We called it “Great” in our 8/10 review. At the time of its release, we said, “Mafia: The Old Country is a conventional but effective return to the linear and tightly story-driven format of the original Mafia and Mafia II, and it boasts a wonderful eye and ear for detail.”
For more on The Old Country, you can read up on the Free Ride mode it received as part of a free update a few months back. You can also check out everything you need to know about its PC and console specs, features, and more.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He's best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
