Mafia 3 Disclaimer Tells Us Why The Racism is Needed
Yesterday, we told you that 2K and Hangar 13’s Mafia 3, the thrilling organized crime drama set in the immersive open world of 1968 New Bordeaux, is now available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows PC. For those of you who haven’t played the game yet, you should know that there is some language used in the game that may raise your eyebrows. Mafia 3 begins with a message to players that explains the game’s depiction of racism.
The message reports the following:
Mafia 3 takes place in a fictionalised version of the American South in 1968. We sought to create an authentic and immersive experience that captures this very turbulent time and place, including depictions of racism. We find the racist beliefs, language, and behaviours of some characters in the game abhorrent, but believe it is vital to include these depictions in order to tell Lincoln Clay’s story. Most importantly, we felt that to not include this very real and shameful part of our past would have been offensive to the millions who faced – and still face – bigotry, discrimination, prejudice, and racism in all its forms.
Mafia III follows the story of Lincoln Clay, a disenfranchised Vietnam veteran returning from combat and looking for a sense of belonging. Orphaned as a child, Lincoln at last achieves a semblance of family with the city’s black mob. But when Lincoln’s new family is betrayed and slaughtered by Sal Marcano and the city’s Italian mob, he becomes fixated on revenge. He wages a brutal war against the Marcano family, disrupting the balance of power in the seedy underworld of New Bordeaux. As his story unfolds, Lincoln allies himself with other criminals and builds an empire and a new family of his own.
Check back with us in a few days when our full review of Mafia 3 will go live.