A New Mafia Game May Be in Development

A new Mafia game may be in development, if a new trademark listing filed by 2K is anything to go off of. That's right, 2K may be bringing the series back, and if it is, you'd assume at this point it will be via the PS5, Xbox Scarlett, and PC. More specifically, last month Take-Two Interactive -- the parent company of 2K -- filed a new "Mafia" trademark with United States Patent Office. Unfortunately, the trademark doesn't divulge anything too salient, but it's for a new text-based logo that hasn't been used for a previous game. In other words, 2K made a new logo for the series, which it would -- presumably -- only do if it was doing something with the franchise.

Now, as you may know, back in 2018, Kotaku reported that Hangar 13, the developer behind the series, splintered into two different teams. One of these teams supposedly began working on Mafia IV, which was going to be set during the 1970's in Las Vegas. The project was pitched as a video game take on Martin Scorsese's Casino, set in the glitz and glamor of Sin City, run by the Mob. That said, apparently Hangar 13 scrapped the project in favor of a making a new IP.

According to Kotaku's Jason Schreier, Hangar 13 is still working on a new IP. Further, many of the developers who made the original Mafia IV pitch, aren't there anymore. In other words, if there's a new Mafia game in development, it probably isn't at Hangar 13, which begs the question: who's making it? Well, for now, we don't know. In fact, we don't even know if there's a new Mafia in development, but this trademark does seem to suggest 2K has a future for the crime-action series that has never managed to rival Grand Theft Auto, but has sold well for the publisher in the past.

So, is a new Mafia in development? I wouldn't be surprised if there was, but for the moment, I wouldn't really take this trademark as any type of proof. That said, if the the series is going to return, it will probably be on next-gen consoles.

Thanks, Respawn First.