You can now build a criminal empire while you’re checking the time.
N3twork, the mobile game studio that game industry veteran Neil Young founded, today launched Mafia Watch, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) for Apple Watch. Mafia Watch marks Young’s return to his gaming roots, having stepped back from running N3twork’s video social network earlier this year. Previously, Young found big success publishing mobile titles like Rolando and GodFinger at Ngmoco before DeNA acquired the company for $400 million back in 2010. He’s also a former EA exec.
Mafia Watch is built for the Apple Watch, and Young says that it pushes the boundaries of mobile gaming on wearables. It takes advantage of features like Siri dictation and message shortcuts, allowing players to easily collaborate and communicate with their in-game and Facebook friends, sending taunts and words of thanks.
Players create their own mobster, then take on small-time jobs and large-scale heists, ranking up along the way. You can team up with friends, battle against others, and hire players to do your dirty work.
Designer and producer Takeshi Otsuka says the game is built to fit with the daily rhythm of people’s interactions with Apple Watch, which tend to be short and often. “We’ve eliminated long play sessions by creating a game that gives players the ability to engage, have fun, progress, and move on with their everyday lives in the matter of moments,” he said.
