Mafia: The Old Country’s massive Free Ride update adds hidden secrets, first-person driving, and a huge list of new content
Mafia: The Old Country is expanding in a major way this month. Hangar 13’s Free Ride Update launches November 20th as a free patch for all players, overtaking the old Explore mode with a full suite of new challenges, collectibles, rewards, visual features, and gameplay options. The update is packed enough to meaningfully change how players experience 1900s Sicily, and looks to add a ton of re-playability and longevity to the game.
Hangar 13 calls Free Ride a “labor of love,” and Associate Design Director Josh Zammit says the mode reflects the team’s ongoing affection for the franchise.
New gameplay content and features
Free Ride fully overhauls the previous Explore mode, offering a structured sandbox designed around repeatable racing and combat challenges. These activities unlock progressively depending on how far players are in the main story. Free Ride and the campaign are interchangeable at any time via the pause or main menu. Each challenge includes three reward tiers, paying out increasing amounts of Dinari, the game’s earn-as-you-play currency. Dinari is spent at Pasquale’s store, which expands with new items as players clear content.
Hangar 13 also confirms that Free Ride includes hidden secrets reminiscent of past Mafia titles. Zammit teases one specifically: “There is one piece of content I think players are going to find especially intriguing… Keep an eye out for notes in Enzo’s apartment—one may end up revealing something cool to investigate.” The wording suggests a small investigative thread or hidden encounter that unlocks by following clues, a callback to Mafia’s tradition of embedding secrets just out of direct sight.
For the first time in Mafia history, The Old Country now supports official first-person driving. The new cockpit view adds detailed car interiors, character animations, and heightened immersion. Races become more intense as dust, smoke, and limited sightlines play into handling.
New Weapons, Cars, Charms, and Outfits
All new Free Ride unlocks carry into the main campaign, adding fresh progression incentives across both modes. The update introduces a sizable batch of gear: 16 outfits, three hats, four knives, three guns, three charms, and two cars.
Photo Mode, Cinema Siciliano, and Classic Difficulty
The update also brings a fully featured Photo Mode, letting players fine-tune shots using adjustable camera controls, color settings, and a range of filters, including two Cinema Siciliano variants. For those wanting a different look entirely, Cinema Siciliano Mode applies a film-grain black-and-white aesthetic, vintage audio, Sicilian VO, and a cleaner UI to the entire game. A new Sundial mechanic in Enzo’s apartment and the Vineyard lets players switch between Sunrise, Afternoon, Foggy, and Ashfall conditions at will, ideal for exploration and creating dramatic and creative Photo Mode compositions. Players seeking a tougher experience can try Classic Difficulty, which brings back the series’ harsher ruleset with deadlier enemies, limited healing, and ammo lost on reload.
A Meaningful Expansion to Valle Dorata
The Free Ride Update is one of the most substantial post-launch additions Hangar 13 has delivered. With new challenges, progression, cosmetics, hardcore difficulty, and cinematic presentation tools, the update meaningfully expands the world, and provides what looks like a true labor of love from Hangar 13. With the launch of the update only hours away from the posting of this article, those eager to jump back into Enzo's shoes (now more stylish than ever) will need not wait long to see how Hangar 13 and 2K deliver.
Mafia: The Old Country’s Free Ride Update launches November 20 for all players.
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