Two Thirds of Mafia: Trilogy Launch Today in 2K Games’ Complicated Roadmap of Rereleases

By Joseph Stanichar | May 19, 2020 | 3:50pm

Images via 2K

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Two Thirds of Mafia: Trilogy Launch Today in 2K Games’ Complicated Roadmap of Rereleases

Announced Tuesday by 2K Games, Mafia: Trilogy is a collection of the three Mafia games, each installment being remade, remastered or simply remixed, some of which are playable immediately.

Revealed in a teaser trailer just a few days ago, Mafia II: Definitive Edition and Mafia III: Definitive Edition are available for purchase on most platforms today, while Mafia: Definitive Edition and the full Mafia: Trilogy collection will launch Aug. 28. Confused yet?

According to 2K’s press release, Mafia: Definitive Edition is being remade from the ground up, with a new engine, script, cutscenes, gameplay sequences, voice acting and orchestral score. The original was critically praised when it released in 2002, but its console ports were beset by technical inferiorities that were difficult to overlook then and even harder to ignore now. Hopefully this ambitious remake will take what audiences loved into the modern era of gaming while maintaining the unforgettable atmosphere of being a gangster in 1930s Illinois.

Mafia II: Definitive Edition receives a more modest upgrade. Originally released for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC in 2010, fans and critics mostly enjoyed getting to explore 1940s and ‘50s Empire Bay. Although not being completely remade like its predecessor, the sequel is now playable in 4K and contains all previous DLC in one package. Furthermore, all current owners of Mafia II on Steam get the remastered version for free.

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The final game of the trilogy, Mafia III launched on modern platforms in 2016. Set in its own version of New Orleans in 1968, it received critical acclaim for its faithful and engaging recreation of the era — as well as for its rockin’ soundtrack — but a handful of technical issues plus a failure to mechanically push the series forward left some fans and critics disappointed. Given that the Mafia III: Definitive Edition launches today on the same platforms it came out on in 2016, don’t expect too much of an upgrade. The new version contains all previous DLC, and is available for free for owners of the original on all platforms.

There will also be a physical version of the full Mafia: Trilogy with the release of Mafia: Remastered on August 28, but oddly enough it won’t be available in the United States, the country where all three of its games take place, nor the rest of the Americas.

Got all that? To recap, Mafia II: Definitive Edition and Mafia III: Definitive Edition launch today on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Steam for $29.99 each, with the former being free for owners of the original on Steam and the latter being free for owners of the original on all platforms. Epic Games Store and Google Stadia versions of the games will be available at a later date.

Then Mafia: Definitive Edition launches as a full remake on PS4, Xbox One and Steam when it launches Aug. 28 for $39.99, or as part of Mafia: Trilogy for $59.99. My head hurts.

For more on Mafia, check out our review of Mafia III and our interview with the game’s writer.