Over the Summer, 2K revealed that the latest installment in the Mafia series was set to release in "early 2016." The developers didn't offer any kind of specific release date, but apparently they didn't need to. Soon after the official reveal, GameStop updated their online store with Mafia 3, along with a release date.
According to Gamestop, Mafia 3 is set to release on April 26th, 2016 on the Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. In corroboration with the previously reported release date, an image of a Best Buy pre-order card was sent to IGN today, revealing the very same release date of April 26th.
2K has responded to the leaked images, saying that Mafia 3 will indeed release this year, but they have no official release date to announce as of yet. The developers claim that the release date listed, April 26th, may simply be a "placeholder date," instead of the actual release date.
"Mafia III will release in calendar 2016 during Take-Two Interactive’s fiscal year 2017. No official release date has been announced at this time. It is common practice for retailers to list placeholder dates before an official release date has been announced due to the requirements of their operating systems."
It is interesting to see 2K suggesting April 26th is a placeholder date for the game, as it is a Tuesday – a day that has been regularly used as a game release day in the United States. Of course, there's always a chance it is indeed a placeholder date… conveniently used by two retails… on your typical game release day.
