Mafia 3 In Development?

Mafia 2 developer 2K Czech is rumored to have been contributing to Mafia 3 and GTA 5 for almost a year now.

A VG247 source states that the studio has been producing animations for cutscenes and general gameplay. Both Rockstar and 2K Czech are owned by Take Two, so it makes sense to exchange tech in this manner during Mafia III game development.

Additionally, it’s suggested that this is Take Two’s plan for the studios to work together and turn the Mafia series into a major franchise like Grand Theft Auto is.

Here’s the Mafia 2 launch trailer to refresh your memory of the series.

Update January 10, 2014: In a statement to press 2K Games have inadvertently revealed they are shuffling around the Mafia 3 development team at 2K Czech (who made Mafia 1 & 2) to 2K Brno to better work with 2K Games in the USA.

The press statement reads: “We have relocated and consolidated our 2K Czech team from our Prague facility to centralise resources in our location in Brno. Additionally, we are transferring some development resources from Prague and Brno to 2K headquarters in Novato, CA. This transition will both strengthen the integration of the 2K Czech team with our award winning development teams, and better align cross-functional business practices. As part of this realignment, we are adjusting our staffing levels, resulting in the elimination of some positions.”

What do you think of Mafia 3 having just gone into full development after a year of thorough pre-production? Are you ready for a return to the Mafia universe?