Grand Theft Auto V

THE BUZZ: Rumor has it Mafia II developer 2K Czech is reportedly helping Rockstar out with the development of Grand Theft Auto V.

A source told VG247 that the developer has been working on the game for around a year, helping to produce animations and cutscenes for general gameplay.

The two studios are apparently sharing secrets as part of Take-Two’s plan to turn Mafia into a killer franchise.

The source also revealed that work has begun on Mafia III after a year of pre-production, ”in which the game’s concepts and tech were stripped back to basics and rebuilt.”

Finally the source mentioned that Mafia III may be a next generation title, as 2K attended the Durango summit that was apparently held in London last month to discuss the next Xbox console.

EGM’s TAKE: This rumor actual makes a lot of sense from a business point of view. Why wouldn’t Take-Two want another of their titles to emulate the success of Grand Theft Auto? What better way then for the Mafia devs to learn than from the masters themselves. It also would take some of the load off of Rockstar with the extra staff members helping out. Mafia III is pretty much a given also, it’s just a matter of when.

Source: VG247