# Mafia (video game)
**Mafia** is a 2002 action-adventure video game developed by the Czech studio Illusion Softworks and published by Gathering of Developers, a subsidiary of [Take-Two Interactive](https://www.edgepedia.org/take-two-interactive), in which the player follows the rise and fall of competing crime families in a 1930s American underworld setting.[1](https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/23404eca-264e-467e-97e3-08b6e344da05) It shipped for PC in North America on August 29, 2002 and reached European stores on September 6, 2002.[1](https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/23404eca-264e-467e-97e3-08b6e344da05) The game follows taxi driver Thomas Angelo in the city of Lost Heaven, and it became known for a strong story and film-like atmosphere that reviewers considered unusual for games of the period.[2](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/371671-mafia/reviews/70393) • [3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer / publisher | Illusion Softworks (Czech Republic); Gathering of Developers, a Take-Two Interactive subsidiary[1](https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/23404eca-264e-467e-97e3-08b6e344da05) |
| Release | PC shipped August 29, 2002 (North America); September 6, 2002 (Europe); later ported to PS2 and Xbox[1](https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/23404eca-264e-467e-97e3-08b6e344da05) • [4](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/371671-mafia/reviews/70393) |
| Setting | 1930s underworld, the city of Lost Heaven, with period vehicles and weapons[1](https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/23404eca-264e-467e-97e3-08b6e344da05) |
| Protagonist | Thomas Angelo, a taxi driver drawn into the Salieri crime family[2](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/371671-mafia/reviews/70393) • [5](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/24/analisis/1600959846_926566.html) |
| Development length | Almost five years, with the team growing to nearly 40 people[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/) |
| Structure | A linear, mission-based story set in an open city used mainly for atmosphere[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-2879254/) |
| Remake | Mafia: Definitive Edition, by Hangar 13, released September 25, 2020 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC[5](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/24/analisis/1600959846_926566.html) |
## Development
The project began small. According to Roman Hladik, the series' longtime studio manager and art director at 2K Czech, the initial team of five started developing a fantasy RPG, but after a gaming tradeshow they changed direction and set out to design the game they wanted to play themselves.[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/) Their inspirations were classic gangster movies, and they tried to capture that atmosphere in a video game.[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/)
**A late change of protagonist.** In the original concept the player was supposed to be a policeman. When Daniel Vávra took charge of the script, he flipped the roles, making the player a criminal instead, and the team committed to that plan.[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/) Development took almost five years, and the team grew to nearly 40 people, a large size for the era.[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/) A contemporary Computer Gaming World preview described the movies of the period and other depictions of La Cosa Nostra as the main inspiration behind the Czech developer's third-person action-adventure.[7](https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_210.pdf)
## Design and gameplay
Mafia combines third-person action with driving through a large city. A typical mission begins with one of the game's long in-engine cutscenes, after which the player is assigned weapons, chooses a car, and drives through the city to a destination.[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-2879254/) GameSpot's review by Erik Wolpaw observed that the seeming open-endedness of the gameworld exists to give atmosphere to an otherwise completely linear, mission-based game.[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-2879254/) This pattern, a narrative adventure with semi-free movement through the city and no side elements that divert from the script's pace, became a signature of the series in its later installments as well.[5](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/24/analisis/1600959846_926566.html)
The cars were a particular point of praise. GameSpot noted that they authentically re-create the curviness of 1930s vehicle design.[6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-2879254/) The Meristation review of the 2020 remake describes the same handling identity carried forward: heavy 1930s chassis on narrow tires that slide and lean into turns, with varied behavior between vehicles.[5](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/24/analisis/1600959846_926566.html)
## Reception and ports
The PC version debuted in August 2002 to strong reviews, and GameSpot called it an outstanding [PC game](https://www.edgepedia.org/pc-game).[4](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/371671-mafia/reviews/70393) • [6](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-2879254/) The console ports fared worse. Mafia was ported to [PlayStation 2](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-2) and Xbox simultaneously, and the Xbox version was described as looking like an early-generation PS2 game.[4](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/371671-mafia/reviews/70393) GameSpot's PS2 review found that the game loses much of its impressive presentation in translation, with the driving sequences losing most of the atmosphere they had on PC.[8](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-6087086/) On [Steam](https://www.edgepedia.org/steam-service), where the game remains sold, 86 percent of 2,266 English user reviews are positive, a rating the store labels Very Positive.[9](https://store.steampowered.com/app/40990/Mafia)
## Legacy and sequels
The success of the first game led directly to a sequel. Daniel Vávra was already working on the second game's script shortly after the first shipped, and the team decided to develop [Mafia II](https://www.edgepedia.org/mafia-ii) on an internal engine created for another Illusion Softworks game, preparing for the coming console generation jump.[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/) A GDC postmortem dates the story script's start to 2003 and the 2K acquisition of Illusion Softworks to 2008.[10](https://media.gdcvault.com/gdceurope2012/Presentations/jarek_kolar_track_mafia2postmortem.pdf) At the peak of Mafia II development the team had nearly 200 people at two studios in Prague and Brno, and the studio operated as 2K Czech; the game was released in 2010.[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/) • [11](https://gdcvault.com/play/1016503/Mafia-II)
The series continued with [Mafia III](https://www.edgepedia.org/mafia-iii) (set in New Bordeaux) and, in 2020, [Mafia: Definitive Edition](https://www.edgepedia.org/mafia-definitive-edition), a full remake of the original by Hangar 13 that Meristation scored 9 out of 10 and described as a remake worthy of the legend, keeping the iconic story moments intact while reordering some scenes.[3](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/) • [5](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/24/analisis/1600959846_926566.html)
## References
1. [Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. Ships Mafia for the PC (Business Wire, August 29, 2002)](https://ir.take2games.com/static-files/23404eca-264e-467e-97e3-08b6e344da05)
2. [Mafia Review for PC, GameFAQs](https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/pc/371671-mafia/reviews/70393)
3. [My Life in the Mafia (Games): Looking Back on the Series' 15-year History, PlayStation.Blog (Roman Hladik, 2017)](https://blog.playstation.com/2017/08/29/my-life-in-the-mafia-games-looking-back-on-the-series-15-year-history/)
4. [Mafia Review, GameSpot (Erik Wolpaw, September 4, 2002)](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-2879254/)
5. [Mafia: Definitive Edition, análisis, Meristation (2020)](https://as.com/meristation/2020/09/24/analisis/1600959846_926566.html)
6. [Mafia Review, GameSpot (PC)](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-2879254/)
7. [Computer Gaming World Issue 210](https://www.cgwmuseum.org/galleries/issues/cgw_210.pdf)
8. [Mafia Review, GameSpot (PS2)](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/mafia-review/1900-6087086/)
9. [Mafia on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/40990/Mafia)
10. [GDC 2005: Mafia II Postmortem presentation (Jarek Kolář)](https://media.gdcvault.com/gdceurope2012/Presentations/jarek_kolar_track_mafia2postmortem.pdf)
11. [Mafia II Postmortem, GDC Vault](https://gdcvault.com/play/1016503/Mafia-II)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Games and gameplay › Individual game titles › Individual PC and computer-platform game titles › Action-adventure titles*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license