Key Highlights:
- Mafia: The Old Country campaign length lasts around 10.5 hours, with side content pushing to 13.
- Priced at £44.99/$49.99, it’s shorter and more focused than a full-scale AAA release.
- Set in 1905 Sicily, the game is a violent prequel to the original Mafia from 2002.
Mafia: The Old Country isn’t trying to be a sprawling open-world epic. Instead, Hangar 13 has opted for a tighter, more narrative-driven experience set in the heart of 1905 Sicily.
According to recent developer comments in an interview with Vortex.cz, the game’s main story will take around 10.5 hours to complete, with an additional couple of hours for side quests, bringing the total to roughly 13 hours. That runtime puts it shoulder to shoulder with Mafia: Definitive Edition and the earlier entries in the series, suggesting a deliberate return to a more classic structure.
At a price point of £44.99/$49.99, the game isn’t positioning itself as a blockbuster-sized time sink. But that doesn’t appear to be a concern for the developers.
Studio head Nick Baynes directly addressed the question of length and scope, noting:
“No one needs to be concerned about the quality of the game or anything like that, or it being super short”.
With the team undergoing major changes to the game engine, the choice to keep things focused wasn’t just stylistic, it was strategic. Mafia has always worked best when it’s grounded in characters and setting, rather than scope for the sake of it.
That setting is a fresh angle for the franchise. Players are dropped into the violent and morally tangled world of early 20th-century Sicily, a period where organised crime was still carving out its identity. The ESRB has already stamped it with an M rating, citing not just violent combat, but also strong language and adult themes.
The prequel status gives it room to build on the roots of the franchise, offering a new lens through which to view the criminal underworld that the original game first introduced.
Combat is expected to be direct and brutal. Expect handguns, rifles, shotguns, and knives as standard fare, but with enough flair to leave an impression. Blood-splatter effects, reactive gunfire, and graphic stealth takedowns lend the game a raw, grounded edge that ties directly into the era it’s portraying. This isn’t stylised crime drama – it’s built to feel gritty and unsettling.
Graphics look absolutely beautiful, and there’s been strong hints of a PS5 Pro enhanced version for weeks now, mostly from the “captured on PS5 Pro” messaging in newly released trailers.
Importantly, Mafia: The Old Country won’t be burdened by the expectation of open-world filler. That design choice makes it an anomaly in today’s market and will likely be divisive, but it’s also what might make it stand out. It’s not selling you a sandbox; it’s selling a slice of underworld history told through tightly crafted missions and optional side quests.
The game launches August 8th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For fans of story-first crime dramas and players who prefer punchy, focused campaigns over sprawling but shallow maps, this could be one of the more rewarding releases of the summer.