Hangar 13 Explained the Difference Between Mafia and GTA Game Series

Over the past few decades, plenty of gaming franchises from various studios have drawn comparisons to Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto, and Mafia is one of the most frequently mentioned in that conversation. In a recent interview, Hangar 13's president explained the fundamental difference between the two.

Speaking with IGN, Hangar 13 President Nick Baynes claimed there's not much point comparing Mafia to Grand Theft Auto, since the team never modeled itself after Rockstar's franchise to begin with. According to him, despite some surface similarities, an open world, shootouts, and car chases, Mafia has always leaned into storytelling first, while GTA's main appeal has always centered on its sandbox freedom. You can check out Baynes' fuller comments below:

“I think that genuinely at the studio, we've got our own path. 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.”

Last week, Hangar 13 also announced Mafia: The Omertà Collection, a complete anthology of the franchise including all DLC and updated technical specs, along with confirmation that Mafia: Definitive Edition is now available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. The bundle launched August 14 alongside Man of Honor, a story DLC for Mafia: The Old Country that brings back Ennio Salieri, one of the central characters from the original game.

In addition, it is known that Hangar 13 is working on a new entry of Mafia, which, according to rumors, will take players to Empire Bay, the city from the second franchise installment, and will become a full-fledged sequel to The Old Country. Moreover, Mafia 2 will also receive a remake—likely on Unreal Engine 5. Recently, it was also revealed that the new installment of the franchise may have a multiplayer.

As for the next GTA installment, Grand Theft Auto VI will release on November 19 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. Later this month, Netflix will host a new presentation of the game, which, according to rumors, will have a series-style structure and consist of three separate episodes released at different times.