"This thing of ours....it's a brotherhood..."
And so begins the trailer for Mafia: The Old Country, the latest entry in the video game action-adventure franchise set to launch next year, according to Hanger 13 and 2K, a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive (TTWO) .
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"Uncover the origins of organized crime with a gritty mob story set in the brutal underworld of 1900s Sicily," Take-Two said in a news release. "Fight to survive in this dangerous and unforgiving era, with action brought to life by the authentic realism and rich storytelling that the critically acclaimed Mafia series is known for."
Launched in 2002, the Mafia franchise has sold more than 34 million copies across console and PC, the company said.
Take-Two Interactive announced the new entry at Gamescom, which is billed as the world's largest gaming event and held annually in Cologne, Germany.
The company, which publishes such classic games as Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption, also said that Borderlands 4, the latest in the "looter-shooter" franchise, will launch in 2025, where "players will once again assume the role of a legendary Vault Hunter as they search for secret alien treasure while blasting everything in sight."
Take-Two Interactive said the Borderlands franchise has sold more than 87 million copies to date.
Take-Two CEO not 'particularly worried' about recession
Gaming is the dominant entertainment sector, with U.S. consumers spending a staggering $57.2 billion on gaming through 2023, up $1 billion from the previous year.
In comparison, global box office revenue totaled $33.9 billion last year, up 30.5% from 2022, thanks largely to such blockbuster films as Barbie and Oppenheimer.
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“These figures reinforce the position of the video game industry as a growth engine for the United States economy,” Stanley Pierre-Louis, CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, said in a statement.
“When combined with the fact that nearly two-thirds of Americans play video games regularly, cutting across all demographics and backgrounds, these results confirm the video game industry’s impact as an economic and creative powerhouse with far-reaching cultural influence," he added.
There are roughly 3 billion gamers worldwide, many playing video games from Take-Two Interactive.
Earlier this month, the company reported adjusted first-quarter earnings of 5 cents per share on net bookings of $1.22 billion, compared with adjusted earnings of 27 cents per share on net bookings of $1.2 billion a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet had expected Take-Two earnings of 2 cents a share on adjusted sales of $1.26 billion.
Chairman and CEO Strauss Zelnick told analysts that “fiscal year 2025 is off to a solid start” as first-quarter net bookings were in line with expectations “and our management team remains highly confident in our path forward.”
"The Grand Theft Auto series exceeded our expectations, as momentum continues to build ahead of the launch of Grand Theft Auto VI in fall 2025," he said during the company's earnings call. "Unit sales for Grand Theft Auto V continue to grow, and to date, the title has sold-in over 200 million units."
In addition, Zelnick said Red Dead Redemption 2 sold more than 65 million units to date, and NBA 2K24 delivered a solid quarter, selling close to 11 million units to date.
During the question and answer period, Zelnick told analysts that he wasn't particularly worried about a possible recession.
Take-Two Interactive analyst cites 'significant announcements'
"I don't see it now," he said. "I'm also not in the business of predicting that sort of thing, but the metrics don't support that. Generally speaking, the entertainment business is pretty resilient in such a situation."
"Of course, the business is not counter-cyclical and in some massive downturn, we, of course, would be negatively affected, but I just don't see that on the horizon," Zelnick added.
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At last check, Take-Two Interactive shares were up 3.1% to $159.60. The stock is off just under 1% year-to-date but up 16% from a year ago.
Analysts responded to Take-Two Interactive's latest announcements.
Benchmark raised the firm's price target on Take-Two to $210 from $200. It kept a buy rating on the shares after the company made “significant announcements” at Gamescom's Opening Night, including reporting that "Borderlands 4" and "Mafia: The Old Country" are both set for release in fiscal 2026.
With “Grand Theft Auto 6” on the near-term horizon and major game announcements from Gamescom, the company's long-building pipeline is "positioned to drive substantial financial growth," said the firm’s analysts, who identified Take-Two as "a Top Idea for 2024."
After Take-Two revealed teaser trailers at Gamescom for "Borderlands 4" and "Mafia: The Old Country," with subsequent press releases confirming 2025 launches, Bank of America Securities noted that the next Mafia game was already in the firm's FY26 model.
However, BofA said that it had assumed Borderlands 4 to be a fiscal year 2027 title based on the view that it would unlikely be released in the same year as Grand Theft Auto 6, which is reportedly scheduled to be released in late 2025.
While investor focus remains on GTA 6's launch timeline, the firm believes the latest title announcements showcase the potential of the rest of the FY26/27 immersive core slate of 15 titles, which is "likely underappreciated."
BofA reiterated a buy rating and $185 price target on Take-Two shares.
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