After years of rumors, 2K Games have officially announced Mafia III.
An image released on Twitter, featuring four people backlit by car headlights, teases the location and time period of Mafia 3, though 2K has yet to confirm specific information.
No platform information has been shared yet either, but the game’s website reveals former LucasArts employee Haden Blackman’s newly formed Hangar 13 to be the developer. The series’ previous entry, Mafia 2, was developed by 2k Czech.
“Mafia III is the next installment in the popular series known for immersing players into a world of organized crime through rich narrative storytelling and a beautifully crafted game world featuring period-accurate cars, music, and fashion,” said 2K in a statement.
More information about Mafia 3 will be announced in August at Germany’s Gamescom, beginning with a reveal trailer on August 5th at 5AM PDT/ 8AM EDT/ 12PM GMT.
Today’s official announcement comes after years of rumors and speculation. In March 2012, it was reported that Mafia 2’s developer, 2K Czech, were working on the third Mafia game. At the time, the studio had supposedly entered full development on Mafia 3 following a year of pre-production.
Later that year, another report said Mafia 3 was in development at 2K Czech, aiming to be a launch title for Xbox One and PS4. However, the game reportedly suffered production issues, and those plans were discarded.
Recently, in January 2015, voice actor Rick Pasqualone, who played Mafia 2 protagonist Vito Scaletta, teased on Twitter that a new Mafia game would be announced soon. “Might have some Mafia news very soon,” he said, and to a fan who bluntly said, “make Mafia 3,” Pasqualone replied: “Might have some exciting news very soon.”
2K Games parent company Take-Two Interactive said in March 2013 that it had an “extensive pipeline” of unannounced games in development.