How to play Mafia The Old Country early (New Zealand trick explained)

If you're eager to jump into Mafia The Old Country early, there's a trick that's been doing the rounds — the New Zealand trick. Whether you’re on Xbox or PlayStation (PS5), this little timezone loophole lets you unlock the game before your local launch.

If you're wondering how to experience Mafia: The Old Country early using the New Zealand trick, this article explains more.

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Ways to play Mafia The Old Country early (New Zealand trick)

Mark the dates and time (Image via 2K)

Mafia The Old Country launches on August 7, 2025, at 12 pm ET on Steam and on August 8, 2025, at 12 am ET for PlayStation and Xbox consoles. Since New Zealand reaches that date early, players there get early access before North America and Europe. The time difference is an advantage — that’s what the New Zealand trick exploits.

For PlayStation (PS5) players

If you’re playing on PS5, you can’t just flip your timezone settings. Sony ties game unlocks to the region of your PSN account, not your console’s clock. So if you bought the game on your regular US or EU account, you're stuck waiting until it hits midnight your time.

To bypass that, here's what PlayStation users have been doing:

1. Create a new PSN account, and set the country to New Zealand.
2. Buy the game using that account.
3. Make sure your payment method works with NZD (New Zealand Dollars). Prepaid cards, PayPal setups, or NZD-supported bank cards can work.

Your save data, trophies, and progress won’t sync to your main account. So, unless you’re okay starting over, think twice.

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For Xbox players

Xbox makes this almost too easy. Here's all you do:

1. Head into Settings > System > Language & Location.
2. Change your region to New Zealand.
3. Restart your Xbox.
4. The game unlocks the moment it’s live in NZ.

That’s it. No repurchasing needed or worrying about progress carrying over. Just a straightforward region flip, and you're in early. If you’re on Xbox, this is the easiest way to get ahead of the global launch.

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What about Steam or PC?

If you’re on PC, specifically using Steam, don’t bother trying this New Zealand trick. Steam locks release times based on your actual region, and there’s no built-in setting to bypass that like consoles.

That said, you kind of win anyway, the PC version of Mafia The Old Country goes live on August 7, 2025, at 12 pm ET, which is already earlier than when console players can start. So there's really no reason to try and push it further. The game will be there when it says it will.

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Check out: Do you need to play Mafia Definitive Edition before Mafia The Old Country?