Who Owns Mafia?

The original Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven released in 2002, developed by Illusion Softworks in the Czech Republic. A story-driven third-person crime drama set in a 1930s fictional city, it stood apart from Grand Theft Auto by favoring linear missions and period authenticity over open-world freedom, and it became a cult classic in Europe.

Mafia II arrived in 2010, developed by 2K Czech after Take-Two's 2008 acquisition. Set in the 1940s and 1950s, it delivered a cinematic story of WWII veteran Vito Scaletta's rise through the Empire Bay mob. It sold several million copies and cemented the series' reputation for narrative craft over sandbox sprawl.

2K then created Hangar 13, which built Mafia III (2016), shifting the setting to a 1968 New Orleans analogue and following Vietnam veteran Lincoln Clay's vendetta against the Italian mob. The game sold strongly at launch but drew criticism for repetitive open-world structure, pushing the series back toward tighter design.

In 2020, Hangar 13 and 2K released Mafia: Definitive Edition, a ground-up remake of the 2002 original that restored the series' critical standing and introduced it to a new generation as part of the Mafia: Trilogy package.

The newest entry, Mafia: The Old Country, released August 8, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A prequel set in early 1900s Sicily tracing the origins of organized crime, it returned to a focused, linear narrative and a lower $49.99 price point. It contributed to Take-Two's record Q2 FY2026 net bookings and gave the franchise a sustainable model going forward.