Mission Structure

Lore & Background

Games in the Mafia series are set in fictional locales modelled after real American or Italian cities, and typically feature historical settings, from Great Depression-era Lost Heaven in the first game, to 1960s New Bordeaux in Mafia III, and multiple towns across the Sicilian valley in the 1900s in Mafia: The Old Country. The series centers on different protagonists who become involved with the Mafia in one way or another, either attempting to rise through its ranks or bring it down for wronging them. The antagonists are commonly characters who have betrayed the protagonist or their organisation, or characters who have the most impact impeding the protagonist's progress.

Reader's Guide

Gameplay focuses on an open world environment where players complete missions to progress an overall story, as well as engage in various side activities, albeit in a more linear manner than other open world series such as Grand Theft Auto. Most of the games include an additional Free Ride mode, which allows players to trigger missions from the open world.

Did You Know?

• The first game in the series, Mafia, was known during pre-release as Mafia: The City of Lost Heaven.
• Mafia III reviewed significantly worse than the other games due to its repetitive gameplay structure and technical issues.
• The Mafia series has combined lifetime sales of over 34 million copies sold.
• Mafia: The Old Country is a prequel set in 1900s Sicily, exploring the origins of the Mafia.