Mafia: The Old Country actually skips the Italian voiceover – instead there’s “voice acting in Sicilian, fitting the game’s setting in 1900s Sicily”

It’s true – 2K has confirmed that Mafia: The Old Country will not feature Italian voice acting. Instead, the game will feature the option of a much more authentic Sicilian voiceover.

“Authenticity is at the heart of the Mafia franchise,” the developers said on Twitter, “and Mafia: The Old Country will feature Sicilian voice acting, in keeping with the game’s setting in 1900s Sicily. Additionally, Italian language localization will be available for both in-game UI and via subtitles.”

Following a Gamescom Opening Night Live trailer featuring a heavy dose of English speakers with Italian accents, some eyebrows were raised when Mafia: The Old Country’s Steam page promised there would be no Italian voice option – instead, the page only advertised voice acting in English, French, German, Spanish, Czech, and Russian. Italian was listed as an option for the interface and subtitles, but no voice acting.

Now that we know the game will feature authentic Sicilian voiceovers, it all makes a lot more sense. While there are similarities between Italian and Sicilian, they’re categorized as separate languages, and a bunch of 1900s mafiosi on the island speaking modern Italian probably wouldn’t be entirely authentic, so it’s great to see the developers at Hangar 13 taking things a step further here.

There’s little information on what to expect from Mafia: The Old Country, aside from its historical setting, but we’ll be getting a “glance” at the game in December. It’s been eight years since the last Mafia game, so fans of the series are certainly used to waiting.

Check out our guide to all the big upcoming video game release dates.