Mafia: The Old Country might be the most exciting announcement at Gamescom 2024

Among the many new announcements and feature updates to existing live-service titles at this year’s jamboree of gaming goodness in Cologne, Mafia: The Old Country felt like a visiting presence from the games industry of old.

Which is appropriate, given the name. Just as its Cosa Nostra subject matter is all about, ahem, ‘traditions’, the Mafia series itself is an example of singleplayer storytelling refined to the point of mastery in action games. The original Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven and its 2010 sequel are consistent joys of bombast, spectacle, sharp suits and car radios pumping out 1940s earworms. Could The Old Country see a return to those glory days?

First things first: all we know at this stage is that the project exists, it’s being made by Hangar 13 of Mafia 3 fame, and it’s coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in 2025.

There’s also a trailer which takes its role as a ‘teaser’ very seriously.

Caveats, then. Firstly the dev team – Hangar 13 didn’t make the first two Mafia titles, instead leading on the less favoured Mafia 3. So this new game isn’t a slam dunk.

Then again, Hangar 13 also produced the exquisite 2020 Mafia remake, which made some bold calls in the name of modernising a clunky 2002 game, and pulled the whole endeavour off rather masterfully.

The setting’s certainly intriguing - while previous series entrants have taken place on the bloodied, period-authentic streets of America in the mid-20th century, this time we’re in 1900s Sicily where the air isn’t thick with smog and technology’s that bit less advanced.

A deeper dive into the game has been promised this December – probably the 2024 Game Awards, then – so keep an eye out for that happening.