Take Two has acquired Illusion Softworks, the developer behind Mafia as well as the Hidden and Dangerous and *Vietcong *franchises. The company, which is currently at work on Mafia II, will be renamed 2k Czech.
According to Take Two's Ben Feder, the acquisition reflects the company's "strategic focus on owning high-value intellectual property as we continue to expand our portfolio of triple A-titles."
What's most interesting about this, perhaps, is Mafia's striking resemblance to another member of Take Two's portfolio, Grand Theft Auto. Mafia may have been set in the 1930s, but other than that it didn't stray terribly far from GTA's formula of mission-based crime family gameplay. It even placed a large emphasis on driving different kinds of cars.
Perhaps Take Two figured if someone was going to be making a GTA clone, it may as well be them.
Take Two acquires Mafia developer [Games Industry]
