10 Reasons Mafia 3 Will Be Better Than GTA 6

5. 2K Have The Freedom To Experiment

There's a sweet spot when it comes to game development budgets. Too little and you can't fulfil your initial vision, cutting back elements to ensure there's a shippable product somewhere at the end, whereas too much means that initial investment has to be recouped no matter what - cue endless focus-testing to 'guarantee' sales.

Assassin's Creed fell foul of the latter eventually, and I'd argue GTA V totally did too. For all the glossy world-building and gorgeous world that Rockstar had designed, it was completely emblematic of a studio with all the money in the world, yet nothing to spend it on. GTA III through IV felt like risky investments; a developer flexing their muscles in a thousand directions at once and seeing who was up for going along for the ride.

Mafia has this same sensation, too. 2K's budget allocations and the series' reputation as it stands is enough to let Hangar 13 try something completely new, alongside building the tone and feel of the series overall.

The new story trailer hammered home the idea of 'Raiden-ing' the Mafia canon, Metal Gear Solid 2-style,bringing in an external force to comment on and interact with the characters and tropes of the originals. Mafia feels like a franchise with everything to offer and a ton to still prove. It's something the existing fans want to shout about, and that alone will power the developers through to the finish like nothing else.

Rockstar already have your attention, always will, and that leads to a semblance of complacency you can already see emerging across GTA V.