“I think that genuinely, at the studio, we’ve got our own path,” he said about the comparisons between GTA and Mafia. As for whether there is any merit to these comparisons or not, however, Baynes believes that “it’s an Internet thing” and not something that Hangar 13 itself really looks at.

“It genuinely never ever comes up in conversation as a touchpoint or steering our strategy or anything like that. I think obviously there’s a lot of stories about that game out there right now because something’s coming out later this year! But yeah, genuinely, I think it’s an internet thing. It’s not something the studio looks at. So, I think I’m afraid there’s not a rich vein of answers to give you for that.”

Interestingly, IGN also noted that Baynes was “keen” to not really discuss comparisons between Mafia and Grand Theft Auto, and would even go as far as to not mention the name of Rockstar’s upcoming release, Grand Theft Auto 6.

However, these comparisons can be quite strange at times, since Mafia as a franchise has always revolved more around its stories, while the GTA franchise is more well-known for the gameplay sandbox the various titles offer. The Mafia games have also focused on telling more serious stories about life in the mob, while Grand Theft Auto games tend to include elements of parody throughout their worlds and characters.

Hangar 13 is fresh off the release of the Man of Honor DLC for Mafia: The Old Country. The expansion takes place in the winter of 1905 in Sicily, after Enzo Favara has gained the confidence and trust of the Torrisi crime family. The story revolves around a delicate assignment given to Enzo – to help Ennio Salieri after his recent release from prison. This leads Enzo deeper into the Valle Dorata’s underworld.

In our review, we gave Man of Honor a score of 7 out of 10 thanks to its excellent cutscenes and voice acting, and worthwhile Free Ride content. Our major complaints revolved around the predictability of the story and the DLC’s instant-fail stealth segments.

Mafia: The Old Country was released on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S back in August 2025. Rather than following up on the events of Mafia 3, it instead goes back in time to 1900s Sicily, focusing on the birth of organized crime in the region. Enzo has lived a difficult and brutal life full of forced labor during his childhood. Now, with the goal of creating a better life for himself at all costs, he has decided to join the Torrisi crime family and become a man of honor.

For more details, check out our review.

A year later, Hangar 13 has returned to the game with a new DLC, Man of Honor, which adds two more chapters to Enzo’s journey alongside additional content for Free Ride mode. There’s quite a bit here that fans of the original will appreciate, but let’s start with the elephant in the room: the story expansion.

Man of Honor takes place after Enzo Favara has earned his place within the Torrisi crime family. Rather than going further back into Enzo’s past, it fills in an earlier period of his time as a soldato while introducing Ennio Salieri, a character who will be instantly familiar to anyone who has played the first Mafia. Don Torrisi and Salieri have some history, and when the latter comes to him looking to settle a personal matter, the Don gives his approval and ropes Enzo and Cesare into helping him. Salieri’s ultimate goal is simple: earn enough money to leave Sicily behind and start a new life in America.

"There’s quite a bit here that fans of the original will appreciate"

As a result, Man of Honor places much more emphasis on Salieri than Enzo, with the latter essentially serving as the vehicle through which the expansion sets up Salieri’s future. The voice acting and cutscene direction are, as you would expect from a Mafia game, solid throughout. Salieri comes across as sharp, selfish and quick-witted, someone more than willing to use others to get what he wants, and that side of his personality is reflected throughout the expansion.

I won’t go too deeply into the story beyond saying that it’s a decent, if ultimately straightforward, tale built around one of the Mafia’s most fundamental rules: you don’t cross the Don. It wraps up rather quickly and respects your time, with a conclusion that is largely satisfying, even if much of what happens is fairly easy to see coming.

Lasting around two hours, Man of Honor feels, from a gameplay perspective, like a direct continuation of the base game. It delivers some excellent set pieces, including a chase sequence, several stealth sections, and action-heavy moments that eventually erupt into outright combat. If what you wanted was simply more Mafia: The Old Country, then Man of Honor provides exactly that, which also means it carries over both the strengths and shortcomings of the base experience.

Combat remains effective, though relatively simple and straightforward, while stealth once again follows the “if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” approach. Even traversal remains familiar, whether you’re travelling on horseback or driving classic vehicles. Coincidentally, these are all things I enjoyed about the base game, so returning to them a year later was surprisingly satisfying. That said, if you didn’t enjoy The Old Country the first time around, there’s little here that will change your mind. This is an expansion rather than a major reworking of its mechanics. But for players who loved the base game, it provides an engaging afternoon’s worth of familiar Mafia gameplay without overstaying its welcome or pretending to be something radically different.

That is, until the compulsory instant-fail stealth sections come into play. There’s one particular set piece during the concluding events of Man of Honor where you simply cannot be detected, because the moment an enemy spots you, it’s an instant game over. Look, I get it, sometimes a game needs to impose a strict no-detection requirement, but the systems built around such a restriction also need to be engaging enough to justify it.

Take Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, for example, where the mechanics support those restrictions by giving you plenty of tools and gadgets to experiment with and work around different situations. In a game like Mafia, however, a section like this feels forced because the stealth mechanics simply aren’t deep enough to make that kind of limitation particularly enjoyable, and it ultimately pulled me out of the experience. Fortunately, this specific sequence only lasts for several minutes, but in an expansion this short, I still think it’s worth pointing out.

I also came across a few minor bugs here and there, including one during a chase sequence where Enzo’s animations suddenly went haywire and became stuck. It wasn’t anything game-breaking, but it did stand out, especially since I don’t recall encountering similar issues during my time with the base game.

Once you’re done with the story, Man of Honor also expands the game’s Free Ride mode with a number of Salieri-related missions, where he essentially acts as a quest giver to Enzo from his warehouse. To be transparent, I hadn’t experienced Free Ride before this since it was added after the game’s original release, but Salieri’s side tasks give the mode a little more narrative weight, especially since they provide additional background on his motivations and just how desperately he wants to make his way to America.

"Lasting around two hours, Man of Honor feels, from a gameplay perspective, like a direct continuation of the base game."

Again, these tasks largely follow the structure of missions from the base game, whether that means stealth-based infiltration, procuring valuable items, stealing vehicles, or completing the kinds of objectives you’ve already encountered throughout the campaign. The expansion also adds more weapons, knives, clothing options, and various items with effects that can influence combat encounters out in the field.

I like what Hangar 13 has done with Free Ride here, because it makes the world feel more worthwhile to explore by giving you more reasons to engage with it. My only question is whether some of this content could have been integrated more naturally into the story itself, which would have made the overall experience feel more connected. Regardless, Man of Honor improves Free Ride by making its existing world denser with engaging activities rather than simply increasing the size of the map.

For what it’s worth, Mafia: The Old Country – Man of Honor costs $9.99, which I think is a fair price for the experience it offers. There’s a reasonable argument that the expansion could have focused more on Enzo’s backstory rather than inserting a side story into the base game’s narrative, but I do feel that Hangar 13 is making an effort to connect The Old Country to the larger Mafia timeline, and so far, that approach is working well.

I appreciated Enzo’s characterization in the base game and would still love to see more added to his story if Hangar 13 has further content planned. As it stands, though, Man of Honor is a reasonable expansion of the base-game experience, sticking closely to what already worked rather than trying to reinvent it, and for an add-on of this size and price, that’s all it needs to do.

This game was reviewed on PC.

Lest you think this is a continuation of The Old Country’s story, Man of Honor is more of a side path. Protagonist Enzo Favara has been assigned perhaps his most important mission yet – working for Ennio Salieri, the infamous Don from Mafia 1.

Little is known about his goals or how they ultimately connect to his reign in the City of Lost Heaven, but in two new chapters, you’ll take on various Jobs and Challenges. Both are available in Free Ride Mode and include races, assassinations, and whatnot.

Perform well enough, and you can unlock five new Charms, three guns, and three knives (including one that bounces off one poor fool’s head into another). And if that wasn’t enough, you get three new vehicles, two new horses, three outfits and five hats, further proving that crime in Valle Dorata pays well.

Head here for all the details on what Man of Honor adds. If you’re interested in the larger franchise, check out The Omertà Collection. Available for $49.99 (limited time, of course), it includes the entire franchise in one bundle.

It Fills In An Earlier Chapter Of Enzo’s Rise

Throughout Mafia: The Old Country you watch as Enzo Favara slowly earns his place among the Torrisi crime family, rising from powerless labourer to an authority within the syndicate. He proves himself through difficult choices and unwavering loyalty, and by the end of the campaign you experience the consequences of those decisions. Man of Honor takes a different approach to The Old Country’s central narrative by visiting an earlier point in Enzo’s journey. Its new story chapters slot right into the aftermath of Enzo’s initiation, fleshing out a timeline the original game only alluded to. Winding back to an earlier stage of Enzo’s career has potential to give greater context to his eventual evolution, adding weight to the events, relationships, and compromises you know from the base game.

Salieri Expands The Base Game’s Mafia Legacy

The Old Country establishes the Torrisi family as one of Sicily’s dominant criminal organisations, operating through strict hierarchical honour and loyalty to maintain influence over the local rackets. Man of Honor brings a familiar figure into the fold: a young Ennio Salieri, operating, like Enzo, through the same criminal system. Again, like Enzo, he’s carving his own reputation, long before building his own empire in America. During Man of Honor’s timeline, Don Torrisi sits comfortably at the top of the family, with the ambitious Salieri gradually rising to replicate the Don’s power overseas. Salieri’s is an important arc, reinforcing how interconnected the series’ wider history is without leaning simply on nostalgic fan service.

Free Ride Is Becoming More Than a Post-Campaign Distraction

Free Ride, the post-release expansion which replaced Explore mode, already gives you the opportunity to explore Valle Dorata outside of the main campaign. Its optional combat encounters, stealth missions, and racing events serve as welcome deviations from the main story’s linear structure, but before Man of Honor’s changes it largely functioned as a collection of disparate activities. Now, Free Ride appears to deliver a stronger purpose, with Salieri’s warehouse effectively becoming a new hub where you can collect a range of assignments, accept additional challenges, and earn rewards through a more structured progression loop. The mode’s tighter direction alongside stronger incentives should make The Old Country’s extra-curricular story activities significantly more meaningful. No longer are these lightweight diversions but genuine reasons to keep returning.

The New Challenges Expect You to Have Mastered the Base Game

Through limited ammunition, an emphasis on stealth and silent approaches, and higher likelihood for mission success if you balance careful planning with quick reactions, Mafia: The Old Country rarely lets you brute-force your way through encounters. In charting Enzo’s rise, you learn how to adapt alongside managing the game’s combat systems for maximum efficiency. Now, Man of Honor isn’t interested in replacing that formula, instead bringing more difficult challenges to test the mechanics you already understand. Sure, you’ll lock into familiar scenarios – tense infiltration, brutal firefights, white-knuckle car chases – but the DLC makes them all the more punishing. However, this isn’t an arbitrary difficulty spike. No, the expansion aims to reward your experience by imploring you to apply everything you’ve already learned into more demanding situations.

Jobs Give Existing Traversal Mechanics New Uses

Throughout The Old Country’s campaign, Enzo regularly swaps between automobiles, horseback travel, and on-foot exploration as missions take him through Valle Dorata’s rustic towns, countryside, and winding foothills. However, those traversal mechanics largely exist to support the game’s carefully scripted objectives; nothing more. Now, Man of Honor is poised to broaden the purpose of traversal through a suite of new jobs handed to you by Salieri. Rather than driving from point A to point B, you’ll use familiar vehicles – and a handful of new ones – to uncover hidden caches, discover hidden routes, transport cargo, and tow valuable automobiles, all while dealing with any rival gangs that attempt to halt your progress. As a result, what the expansion appears to be doing is broadening the utility of existing traversal systems without reinventing the wheel. And, what’s more, it gives you more ways to engage with Sicily beyond what the main campaign can offer.

New Weapons Push Beyond the Base Game’s Grounded Combat

Combat in The Old Country was grounded by its restraint, with ammunition that couldn’t be wasted, stealth that oftentimes proved reliable, and the Sicilian Mafia’s iconic knives functioning as practical tools rather than extravagant power weapons. That’s all set to change in Man of Honor, with a collection of new weapons and charms designed to empower you in battle. The standout addition is the Rimbalzu throwing knife which can ricochet between enemies, allowing you to execute multiple silent takendowns from a single throw. This shift makes sense tonally; the base game introduces Enzo as a vulnerable, resource-conscious fighter, thus the expansion adds more capable and inventive tools to your arsenal. Still, despite all the extras, Man of Honor doesn’t appear to be abandoning its stealth-focused foundation. It just gives you fresh ways to overcome familiar hurdles.

The Reward System Extends Existing Customisation

Character progression in The Old Country means unlocking new weapons, knives, charms, clothing, vehicles, and horses, giving tangible benefit during combat and traversal as well as personalising Enzo himself. In a way, those rewards reflect Enzo’s growing status within the Torrisi family. So, instead of introducing entirely separate paths for growth, Man of Honor embellishes the progression systems which already exist. Completing Salieri’s jobs and challenges, for instance, earns Dinari that can be exchanged for exclusive outfits, weapons, mounts, and more. Crucially, these rewards aren’t purely cosmetic, but can introduce game-changing perks. For example, new charms – such as the Dolce Morte which makes defeated enemies occasionally drop status-effecting fruit – will encourage different approaches to combat and stealth.

Valle Dorata is Being Used More Fully

Valle Dorata is undoubtedly one of The Old Country’s greatest strengths, but despite its richness it remained underutilised. See, the campaign’s linear structure meant many of its picturesque locations became a backdrop merely to pass through. Despite its impressive detail, atmosphere, and authenticity, predetermined missions left large swathes of the landscape ignored. To rectify this, Man of Honor aims to fill the existing map with additional activities and points of interest. Wanted posters, stunt jumps, sulfur truck objectives, hidden collectibles, and entirely new locations all encourage you to revisit areas you may have previously driven straight through, or to venture off the beaten path entirely. Rather than expand the map’s overall size, the expansion makes use of the existing real estate, ensuring Valle Dorata feels more interactive as a result.

McHardy has worked in the games industry for 21 years, and before joining 2K, had worked as an executive producer at Electronic Arts Vancouver on projects like Madden, College Football, and FIFA – now known as EA Sports FC. Paterson has a similar track record. He’s a 22-year veteran who’s worked on a wide range of sports titles including FIFA Manager, FIFA Street, and NBA Live during his time at EA. He has also worked on the Need for Speed franchise as studio design director at Criterion Games.

Pan, having spent 20 years in the industry, has worked on games like UEFA Champions League, SSX, Tennis, NHL, UFC, and FIFA during his time at EA. Thompson has worked as technical director on NHL and UFC, running advanced technology teams during his EA tenure.

Small Axe Studios has also hired Brent Breedveld as animation director, Karl Gryc as art director, and John Cruz as technical art director. The team as a whole is handled by head of HR Trisha MacWan, who has previously held HR leadership roles at Phoenix Labs and Glu Mobile.

Breedveld has one of the most varied catalogues in terms of games he has worked on. During his 14-year tenure at Relic Entertainment as principal animator and animation director, he had a hand in shipping critically acclaimed strategy games like Age of Empires 4 and Company of Heroes. He has also worked on the original Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine. Going further back, Breedveld has a history in the film industry, having worked at Prime Focus World with film credits that include Watchmen and Superman Returns.

Gryc – a 22-year veteran – has worked on several classic critically-acclaimed games like Company of Heroes, Dawn of War, Turok, Academy of Champions, Pure Futbol, Deserts of Kharak, and Sleeping Dogs. His most recent contributions can be seen in Homeworld 3 and Crossfire Legion – projects on which he served as art director.

Currently, Small Axe Studios is looking to grow its teams and has posted job listings on its website for a variety of roles, ranging from lighting artist and senior gameplay online engineer to producer and even a gameplay systems software engineer. While the studio’s first project hasn’t yet been announced, Small Axe Studios has said that it is “built on a fiercely protected, ego-free culture” that prioritizes “coaching over criticism.”

As the wealth of experience across the studio’s teams would indicate, Small Axe Studios is building “2K’s next blockbuster sports franchise”. Which sport will be tackled remains to be seen, though 2K might be looking to develop games across hockey, soccer, and American football to capitalize on the success of the NBA 2K series.

As a free upgrade for PS4 and Xbox One owners, it adds 60 FPS support for Xbox Series X/S and PS5 players alongside other “technical improvements.” Sadly, it appears that Mafia 2: Definitive Edition and Mafia 3: Definitive Edition won’t be getting any changes or new features.

On the bright side, those who haven’t gotten into the series, including last year’s Mafia: The Old Country, may want to check out the bundle. It features a Definitive Edition of the former that includes the base game, Deluxe content and the upcoming Man of Honor expansion. As far as experiencing the entire story of the Mafia series, loosely connected as it is, this is pretty good value.

Of course, 2K has yet to announce pricing, so we’ll need to wait until it’s out tomorrow. As for Man of Honor, it introduces two new story chapters where Enzo works with Don Ennio Salieri, new Free Ride missions, challenging new mission types and even fresh rewards. Head here for all the details – it’s also out tomorrow at 10 AM PT on all platforms.

The addition of C4SH as a new Vault Hunter, along with a couple of Bounty Packs and other additions over the years haven’t been enough to help sustain player counts. However, Gearbox isn’t giving up on it just yet, if Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick’s recent remarks to IGN are any indication.

“Performance has not affected our plans at all. We have another content pack coming. We continue to support the title. We’ve had plenty of incremental releases of content. So no, we’re totally supporting it. We’re thrilled with the performance, and thrilled with the reviews and the scores.”

The performance Zelinick speaks of likely refers to the game’s problematic PC version, which has seen improvements, but haven’t been enough to salvage player drop-off once its initial woes began to surface. Nevertheless, his mention of new content almost definitely refers to Loveless, the new Vault Hunter making their debut next month alongside an update that brings Bounty Pack 5 to the table, both of which are out on September 12, 2026, the game’s first anniversary.

You can bet we’ll be a part of the festivities and tell you if the new additions are a sign of better things to come for the looter shooter as we wait for its year two roadmap.

Those who played the first Mafia will know Salieri as the antagonist, but in these two new chapters, Enzo Favara works alongside him to “settle old scores.” You’ll have new targets to assassinate, races to partake in and even new missions called Jobs, including infiltrating a citrus farm to (permanently) take down rival whiskey runners. Other tasks involve towing vehicles, stealing and delivering trucks, and much more.

Salieri has his own shop in the Port Almaro warehouse, and aside from Jobs, he’ll also dole out Challenges for Free Ride Mode. These are described as offering an “amped-up difficulty that will test the mettle of even the most seasoned soldato.”

Any Dinari earned can be spent on new vehicles, guns (including the pump-handle shotgun and Precisione Speciale rifle), Charms, horses, and outfits. There’s even a new throwing knife, the Rimbalzu, which can ricochet off a target to take down a second. Of course, other activities await, including collecting Wanted Posters, Stunt Jumps and delivery trucks that require destroying.

Mafia: The Old Country – Man of Honor is out on August 14th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Stay tuned for more details and check out our review of the base game.

Hartmann’s impressive track record speaks for itself, with his involvement in hit franchises like Borderlands, Bioshock, and Mafia allowing him to make a name for himself in modern gaming. Ubisoft is thrilled about his decision to take over one of its Creative Houses, with CEO Yves Guillemot issuing a statement commending his past work while expressing excitement for a new chapter.

“Christoph is exactly the kind of leader we needed for Creative House 2 – a passionate gamer with a proven ability to bring out the best in creative teams and build franchises that last.”

Hartmann is similarly excited to be a part of Creative House 2, giving us a glimpse of his plans to take everything the studio is working on forward.

“The talented teams at March of Giants, Massive, Ubisoft Montreal, Ubisoft Paris, and Ubisoft Toronto have always known how to create worlds that players lose themselves in. With Creative House 2, we are giving them the structure, support, and vision to go further, to build the kind of intense, unforgettable experiences that remind players why they fell in love with games in the first place. That is what great games have always been about, and that is what we are here to make.”

It might be an uphill climb for Ubisoft (especially when projects like Splinter Cell Remake have seemingly stalled), but things could definitely improve with Hartmann’s leadership. Of course, there’s also the potential success of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced setting up the embattled publisher for a comeback when it launches on July 9th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Well, that’s exactly what Mafia: The Old Country’s Man of Honor expansion seems poised to do, as we get a glimpse of a younger Don Salieri who seems on the cusp of a great opportunity that comes with its own risks, but apparently worth a great reward. As for what that could be, your guess is as good as ours, but we think it’s safe to say that there’s bound to be a connection to the original title to keep the nostalgia strong with this one, just as it was in the base game.

In case you’ve forgotten, we really liked what The Old Country had to offer, and even felt that it was a great step for the franchise to go back to where the tales that have had us spellbound over the years originally began. We see no reason for the new story expansion to be any different when it drops on August 14, 2026, on all of the game’s available platforms. The trailer doesn’t reveal much else besides what we’ve told you about here, but it’s still interesting enough to warrant a watch.