Mafia 4 and Mafia 2 Remaster to introduce high-res Italian stereotypes

Link has images of supposed trademark.

New Trademarks Suggest Mafia 4 and Mafia 2 Remastered Coming From Hangar 13

The Mafia franchise has been missing in action for the past three years, owing to perhaps the lackluster reception of the third and most recent installment. 2K Games’ extended silence during this period was taken as a bad omen for a potential sequel. However, it appears that the publisher did come around to not just Mafia 4 but also a remastered edition of Mafia 2.

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of 2K Games, has been spotted to have registered three trademarks in relation to the franchise just last month. The filings, at the time of writing, are being reviewed by an examining attorney but should be accepted in the coming weeks.

Two of the trademarks are for “Mafia” and their respective text-based logos only differ in typography. The first one is actually identical to the font used for the first two installments in the franchise. The second one is completely different and without any description. Both are possibly placeholders to lock-in stylized marks for when the trademarks are updated down the road, and at least one of them sparks the existence of Mafia 4.

The third trademark directly mentions Mafia 2 and features the same silhouette logo from 2010. Take-Two Interactive could be just renewing the trademark but with the other Mafia-related filings within the same time frame, this one probably has to do with a remastered edition. It’s something that has been widely requested in the past and would surely put up a lot of smiles for 2K Games.

There’s also another trademark in the mix which was done just a day after the potentially Mafia 4 and remastered Mafia 2 filings. Hangar 13, a subdivision of 2K Games and the one behind Mafia 3, has also been treated by Take-Two Interactive. The filing features the new logo of the developer, which mentions all four studios that were merged in the past couple of years.

Hangar 13 went underground soon after Mafia 3 was released in 2016. Its debut title was marred for repetitive gameplay and a slew of technical issues. Hangar 13 was then hit with massive layoffs, around a year before reports started surfacing that the developer had started work on a new project.

According to the LinkedIn profiles of some of the staffers however, they are not working on a new IP but a AAA unannounced game. Geert De Cnodder, for example, who served as a technical artist for Mafia 3 has been “working on an unannounced AAA game” for nearly two years now, right around the time Kotaku reported a talk of working on a new IP.

Publishers tend to file trademarks when development has reached a specific phase. There are never early registrations. Hence, why there’s a strong possibility that 2K Games will officially announce Mafia 4 and Mafia 2 Remastered before the year is over. On the same note, a release next year won’t be out of the question.

Mafia 3 was pretty underwhelming but I saw some glimmers of hope in it, at least in the actual main story missions between all the busy work and filler.

hopefully they can learn from their mistakes and make a decent game with 4.

EDIT: also, I'd much rather a remake of Mafia 1. I liked Mafia 2 but not sure i'll bother with a remaster

Mafia 2 yes.

Mafia 4 meh if they keep going forward in time.

Oh please. not by hanger 13. but by 2k czeck or illusion softwares.

They have already butchered it. turn Mafia into GTA.

I was blown away what Mafia 3 had to offer and I really like the game for what it is. I wouldn't mind if Mafia 4 ends up not taking the gameplay from 3, just make it a good game and I'll be okay with that.

Enjoyed mafia 2 over 3 so would be ok with a remaster.

Who would want a Mafia 2 remake over a Mafia 1 remake? Who?!

Also pretty hard to be excited by a Mafia 4 after 3..

Agreed, mostly. Mafia 3 blew past my expectations in the opening hours -- but then it got really repetitive. I stuck with it through, mainly the story and characters were strongly written and performed I felt the need to stick it threw.

I wish Take 2 would let Rockstar make a Mafia game Hanger 13 shit the bed with Mafia 3.

I really enjoyed Mafia 2 so I’d probably pick up a remastered version. Didn’t play Mafia 3 but I’d be interested in seeing a Mafia 4.

yea I enjoyed the gameplay and the story and main story mission were fine, they just forced you to do a bunch of busy work in between them that badly damaged the pacing.

there was a good Mafia game embedded in a blandly designed open world game.

probably because with Mafia 2 people complained about the open world being empty so they force you to do a bunch of monotonous stuff which was worse

Remake the first game please. That would have been awesome. A proper remake with a bigger gameworld and added story and missions.

Agreed, the first game was better and really the only one worthy of note mostly due to it's superb story-telling. Especially for the time.

Mafia 3 was probably my biggest disappointment this gen how the hell could they get away with such lazy repetitive mission design and the open world itself was empty and dull. If they do make another Mafia game they better hire some talented devs that know how to make good mission design and a better open world game that feels lively. The only positive thing I can say about Mafia 3 is that Donovan character was damn great and hilarious.

Mafia 2 is one of the worst sequels ever made. It took everything good about the first game and diluted it. For me, it wasn't just the lousy open world, it was the appalling missions too. Some of them were so badly written that all they involved was driving to a location and then watching a cutscene and that was it. I kept asking 'where is the game play?'

The first one is a classic but I'm not sure I'd revisit it simply because its a very tough game and I'd prefer something new.

Mafia 4 would have to be in the style of the original and not the pseudo-GTA follow-ups.

PC Gamer says: 'A new game seems less likely than some remasters, then'.

Why?

That's good news. Loved Mafia 2, so a remaster/remake would be welcome.

Mafia 4? Not so sure after Mafia 3. I thought the fundamentals-story, characters, gameplay, and so forth--of Mafia 3 were really solid, but then about one or two hours in they cut you loose out into the open world and, well, it was a pretty boring open world.

Mafia 3 was a disappointment, but not because it didn't meet my expectations; it was a disappointment because they had something really good going on but ultimately missed the shot.

I'd be willing to give Hanger 13 another chance.

I hope we get another The Godfather the game sequel from EA. The first game is really great and loved every single part of it and no microtransaction too.

First play through of Mafia 2 I was kind of disappointed, it was not quite the game I had built up in my head. Played it through a second time and really enjoyed it and appreciated it much more.

Mafia 3 was not bad although I never finished it completely as I had a weird progression glitch stopping me from finishing an objective and progressing the story...so I shelved it.

Just play Mafia 3 then, it's the same trash as the Godfather games.

Mafia 1 was great, everything else was trash.

Mafia 1 was an absolute masterpiece. I still remember vividly the moody atmosphere it projected of being in 1920s America thanks to the myriad of little details. And of course, the *fantastic* story and varied gameplay elements. I really, really hope they go back to the 20s/30s Capone era with a nice Italian mafia story again and knock it out of the park.

Or just remaster Mafia 1