If you’ve spent dozens of hours building your criminal empire, climbing the family ranks, and outsmarting rival crews in 1920s Sicily, you’ve probably heard whispers of the Mafia The Old Country game awards. I’ve been part of the game’s official community for three years, and I’ve seen first-hand how these awards don’t just give you bragging rights — they come with rare, unobtainable-in-normal-play perks that can give your empire a massive leg up. Most new players don’t even know these awards exist, let alone how to qualify for them, so I’ve put together this full breakdown of every part of the program, from how nominations work to what you get if you take home a trophy.
What Are the Mafia The Old Country Game Awards, Exactly?
These quarterly awards are a joint effort between the game’s development team and official community moderators to celebrate standout player contributions, both in terms of in-game achievements and community support. They launched three years ago as a small, 3-category event, and they’ve grown to include 17 total awards across three main tracks, with more than 12,000 players participating in the last voting cycle. Even if you don’t walk away with a top prize, making the shortlist comes with small perks that make submitting a nomination well worth your time.
- Community Choice Awards: Voted entirely by registered players on the official game forum, with 10 subcategories ranging from Most Creative Roleplay Story to Best Crew Leader.
- Dev Pick Awards: Selected by the game’s development team to highlight underrated players, creative custom content, and standout community contributions that might fly under the general voting radar.
- Lifetime Achievement Awards: Given once a year to long-time players who have made a lasting positive impact on the game’s community, with no repeat winners allowed.
Nominations open on the first of the last month of each quarter, so if you’re targeting Q2 awards, nominations open June 1. You don’t have to be a top-ranked player to qualify, either — I’ve seen level 12 players win Dev Pick awards for creating a full custom roleplay storyline that 200+ players joined last year.
How to Nominate Yourself or Another Player for an Award
Eligibility rules are pretty lenient, but there are a few hard lines you can’t cross. You need a registered account that’s at least 30 days old, no active bans for cheating or harassment in the last 6 months, and proof of the achievement you’re nominating someone (or yourself) for. For self-nominations, you have to submit clear evidence of your win — for example, if you’re nominating for Best Heist Run, you need a clip of the full run, plus confirmation from 2 other players who were part of your crew for that heist. You can only submit one nomination per category per quarter, so don’t waste your entry on a half-baked submission. I made that mistake my first year, submitting two nominations for the same category, and both got disqualified immediately. Take the time to put together a clean, detailed submission with as much proof as possible — screenshots, clip links, testimonials from other community members all make your nomination way more likely to make the shortlist. Shortlists are announced 2 weeks after nominations close, and voting runs for 7 days after that, with no extensions granted for any reason.
Exclusive Perks for Award Winners and Shortlisted Candidates
Even if you only get nominated for one of the Mafia The Old Country game awards, you’ll get a small consolation prize of 500 premium currency just for making the shortlist. The rewards for winners are far more substantial, though, and many of them can’t be unlocked any other way in the game. All winners get a custom in-game trophy for their safe house that’s visible to every player who visits your property, plus a unique profile badge that stays on your account permanently. Community Choice winners get 5,000 premium in-game currency, a free rare vehicle skin, and early access to the next major content update 72 hours before it drops for all players. Dev Pick winners get a 1-on-1 Q&A session with a member of the game’s design team, plus a custom in-game item of their choice (within reason — you can’t ask for a one-shot weapon that breaks the game, but custom family crests, unique outfit pieces, and custom vehicle liveries are all approved regularly). Lifetime Achievement winners get all of the above, plus their name added to the official game’s hall of fame page, and a small cameo in an upcoming storyline mission. These perks are non-transferable, so you can’t sell or give them away to other players without risking a ban. I’ve seen a winner try to sell their early access code for $100 last year, and they lost all their perks plus got a 30-day account suspension.
Pro Tips to Boost Your Odds of Winning an Award
First, don’t just focus on in-game stats. The voting community cares way more about interesting, shareable stories than they do about how many rival crews you’ve taken out. For example, the 2023 Most Creative Roleplay winner ran a 6-month long storyline where their character faked their own death, came back as a rival gang informant, and took down their own old family from the inside — that story was shared hundreds of times on the game’s Discord server, so they won by a landslide. Engage with the community during voting week, but don’t spam people asking for votes. You can share your nomination post on your own social media or Discord server once, but repeated pings or begging for votes will get your nomination disqualified immediately. Moderators are strict about this rule, and they remove at least 10% of nominations every quarter for spamming. Another tip: If you’re targeting a Dev Pick award, focus on contributions that help new players. The devs regularly highlight players who create beginner guides, run new player onboarding crews, or create free custom content for the community, far more often than they highlight top PvP players. Also, make sure your submission follows all the posted rules to the letter — even a small mistake like forgetting to add your player ID to your nomination form can get you cut from the shortlist before voting even starts.
The Mafia The Old Country game awards are one of the most fun, rewarding parts of being part of the game’s community, and you don’t have to be a veteran player with a maxed-out empire to take home a win. Even if you don’t win your first time submitting, putting together a nomination is a great way to connect with other players, share your favorite in-game moments, and get more involved in the community. Next time nominations open, take an hour to pull together your best recent in-game achievement and throw your hat in the ring — you might be surprised at how far it gets you.
