In March, job listings that were dug up on LinkedIn suggested that Mafia 4 was in pre-production, being built out by developer, Hanger 13, on Unreal Engine 5. Now, further listings have been posted on the professional platform, but this time, they’ve mentioned ‘engaging stealth gameplay’ and multiplayer features.
It’s not the first time that a Mafia game will have featured stealth mechanics, but in the series’ last outing – Mafia 3 – stealth was rudimentary at best. Furthermore, no game in the franchise thus far has featured official multiplayer mechanics, so that’d be a complete first for the series, should the wording in the listings turn out to be accurate.
Could Mafia 4 Feature Multiplayer?
Mafia 4, which is reportedly going to be set in 1920’s Sicily, will be the first all-new installation in the franchise in almost a decade, assuming it launches around 2026. In 2016, Mafia 3 was released, and while it had a relatively rocky launch, it stabilised somewhat to become at least a halfway decent open-world action title.
In March, our report regarding the pre-production of Mafia 4 was based on a rumour, but the new job listings found on LinkedIn and shared on Reddit are honest confirmations that Hanger 13 is working on Mafia 4:
Design new archetypes that fit the vision of a Mafia game. All the way from creative and technical design prototypes to enemy behaviours and abilities
Taken from the role’s requirements on LinkedIn
In the job listings, it was stated that the ‘next iteration’ of the Mafia franchise will feature ‘engagement stealth and combat gameplay loops’, which should make for a more enhanced experience over Mafia 3’s relatively basic ‘creep-around-and-stab-people’ stealth platform.
Not only that but it was stated quite clearly that Hanger 13 is looking to hire people that have experience with ‘multiplayer games and/or live game design.’ While this isn’t exactly a confirmation, it’s a nod to the potential that Mafia 4 has – and in this increasingly connected world, it would probably make sense for the UK-based developer to want to feature some kind of multiplayer mechanics in the game.
It’s absolute conjecture at this point as to what that could look like, though.
For more Insider Gaming news, check out our coverage of the Diablo 4 battle pass operating model.
