You can release a smaller game at a fair price.
Take-Two Interactive had a few notable games released this year. If you recall, their Hangar 13 development team also released the latest installment of the Mafia franchise. However, when it was announced, a surprising price tag was revealed for this game’s launch. Looking back now, how does Take-Two Interactive view Mafia: The Old Country? Well, rather positively.
The Mafia franchise has a strong following. However, what you might not have expected was the price point at which this latest title would launch. During a time when games were being released with inflated price tags, sometimes reaching as high as $80, this release was more than welcomed. Mafia: The Old Country was unveiled to be coming out for just $49.99, a price lower than the standard $60 price tag for a typical new AAA game.
Strauss Zelnick Reflects On Mafia: The Old Country
There are several reasons why this price point was chosen for the latest installment in the Mafia franchise. Developers over at Hangar 13 were going back to the IP’s roots. Rather than following the open-world map of Mafia III, Mafia: The Old Country would be a more self-contained gameplay experience. Essentially, players would go through a shorter campaign with a linear structure.
The results were positive, according to Strauss Zelnick. Strauss is the CEO of Take-Two Interactive, and recently he spoke with The Game Business. During the conversation, Strauss noted that the release of Mafia: The Old Country confirmed their suspicions. Overall, they found that developers can create a contained and engaging narrative experience at a fair price while still achieving positive results.
What we suspected was confirmed. Which is just… if you give consumers a great narrative experience that’s a lot of fun, somewhat contained, and at a fair price, then you can have the perfect result.
Of course, we’re waiting to see what’s next for this franchise. There was a previous rumor that suggested a sequel was in the works. However, officially, we haven’t received any information about it being in production. That said, it seems like whatever installment is next, there’s a good chance it will follow the same pathway that Mafia: The Old Country charted out.
Meanwhile, there was some other notable news that came out from Take-Two Interactive’s Rockstar Games studio. If you missed the news yesterday, Rockstar Games announced that they are pushing back the release of Grand Theft Auto VI to November 2026.
