Sequel to Mafia announced, Hitman 3 in development
 

From computerandvideogames.com:

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Illusion Softworks, responsible for the recent, classy World War II squad-based shooter Hidden & Dangerous 2, has already begun work on a sequel to its 1930s gangster action-adventure Mafia, we can exclusively reveal. Not exactly as shocking as discovering a severed horse's head under your bed sheets, but fantastic news nevertheless.
Confirmation that Mafia 2 is underway came direct from the horse's mouth - sorry, it's horse day today - a spokesperson for Illusion revealing to us: "Yes, we're working on it", when questioned on what was happening in regard to a sequel to its crime epic.

Unfortunately, as far as Mafia 2 details are concerned, the developer is keeping lips firmly sealed. Although it would be natural to assume that Illusion will stick pretty close to the original in terms of setting and style, concentrating on gangster frolics in a fictional city in the 1930s, we'd love to see a sequel that's a little more contemporary.

A videogame paying homage to Goodfellas perhaps, or The Sopranos, would be a real treat.

No release date for Mafia 2 yet, and no platforms confirmed, although we expect it will appear on PC, Xbox and PS2. We contacted Mafia publisher Gathering to try and squeeze out further info, but it declined to comment in any way whatsoever on the sequel.

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Other news sites are now announcing the Eidos press release and website of Hitman 3: Contracts. This isn't technicially the latest news, as a placard was placed in the DX2:IW CD case, I definitely am looking forward to this. The website which only has a trailer as of now, is www.hitmancontracts.com .

Mafia was a pleasant surprise to me, given how it came out of nowhere between the Hidden and Dangerous 2 development cycle. While they are working on an addon to H&D2, it's nice to see they've put their direction back to my favorite game from them. It's production values still surprise me when I play through the game.

Mafia as absolutely brilliant, can't wait for the sequel, not sure if I want it to be set in the 30's or the 00's though... here's hoping it's a brand new cast.

i'd like to see it set somewhere in between, perhaps the 50s like Godfather part 2.

I was reading a interview with a producer of Hitman 2, he said that they're toying around with the idea of online play for Hitman 3.

mafia was the best game i have ever played. and i love those days how they were back in the days.

Good stuff, Mafia was a masterpiece.