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Look, we here at Popverse are always asking for teasers regarding upcoming games. I suppose we're just going to have to get more specific.

You see, our ears perked up during PAX East 2025, particularly when the developers of Mafia: The Old Country confirmed that the upcoming game (which is a prequel to the original trilogy) would feature characters that we've met before in the franchise. The problem was that we didn't actually get to hear who those characters were... just how many of them we were getting.

Let's back up at bit - the developers we're talking about are Hangar 13 President Nick Baynes, Game Director Alex Cox, and Cinematics Director Tomáš Hřebíček - all panelists at the Mafia: The Old Country panel that went down the first day of this year's PAX East. It was at the tail end of the panel that the panelists started talking about characters we'd meet in the game, at which point Cox dropped this tantalizing detail:

"We've met some of the main characters today. there are additional characters in the main cast and there are some returning characters. I'm not going to spoil who those characters are now."

What Cox was willing to share was that there were "four returning characters," and as if that wasn't a cruel enough tease, he elaborated that "you're going to have to look quite carefully to find them."

Damn, so not only do we not get to know now, but we might not catch who the characters are even after the game is released?? We can see why Hangar 13 trusted you lot to make a game about withholding information.

Mafia: The Old Country comes to consoles August 8.

The gaming industry has come a long way since Pong blew all our minds in the 70s. We've got everything you need to know about the next big thing in games. Of course, Grand Theft Auto VI is going to be the big game of 2026, but there are plenty of other games coming out between now and then. Here is our starter guide for every gamer:

• All upcoming games in 2025 and beyond
• Gamify My Life, our weekly gaming column designed
• Popverse Picks: The best Assassin's Creed protagonists
• How to play every GTA game in order
• Why the GTA 6 budget isn't as crazy as you think
• The Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man crossover set wouldn't exist without the Spider-Verse

And be sure to check Popverse regularly for the latest gaming news.