You’re driving through a rain-slicked New Bordeaux, the engine of your Samson Drifter growling while Creedence Clearwater Revival blares on the radio. Lincoln Clay has plenty on his mind—mostly dismantling Sal Marcano’s criminal empire piece by piece—but then you see it. A golden glow on a workbench inside a dirty garage. It’s not an ammo crate or a wad of cash. It’s a vintage issue of Playboy.
Collecting Playboy magazines in Mafia 3 isn't just some cheap gimmick to get players to explore the map. Honestly, it’s one of the most cohesive bits of world-building ever put into an open-world game. Most titles use collectibles as "busy work." You know the drill: find 100 hidden feathers or 50 gold bars just to see a 100% completion stat. But Hangar 13 did something different here. They licensed actual, historical content from the Playboy archives to ground the game's 1968 setting in a way that feels uncomfortably real.
The 1968 Vibe and Why Playboy Magazines in Mafia 3 Work
New Bordeaux is a powder keg. It’s 1968. Dr. King has been assassinated, the Vietnam War is screaming on every television set, and the civil rights movement is reaching a boiling point. By including real Playboy magazines in Mafia 3, the developers forced the player to look at the pop culture of the era.
It’s easy to forget that back then, Playboy wasn't just about the centerfolds. It was a massive cultural juggernaut. It represented a specific brand of masculine intellectualism and rebellion against the stuffy, conservative values of the 1950s. When you pick up an issue in-game, you aren't just looking at a pixelated image; you’re looking at a high-resolution scan of a magazine that someone actually bought at a newsstand fifty-plus years ago.
You’ve got 50 of these things scattered across the districts. From the swampy marshes of the Bayou Fantom to the glitzy heights of Frisco Fields. They are everywhere.
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It’s about more than the pictures
Look, we have to talk about the articles. Every time you find one of the Playboy magazines in Mafia 3, you can actually flip through and read snippets of interviews. We are talking about genuine sit-downs with people like Stanley Kubrick or Richard Burton. There are short stories by literary giants. It adds this weird, grounded texture to Lincoln’s ultra-violent journey. You’re moving through a world of extreme racism and brutal mob hits, but the magazines remind you that a "sophisticated" world existed right alongside the grime.
Some players find them in the back of diners. Others are tucked away in the offices of high-level Enforcers. The placement usually says something about the person who left it there. A magazine in a grease-stained auto shop feels different than one found in a luxury penthouse. It's environmental storytelling 101.
Where to Actually Find the Hardest Playboy Magazines in Mafia 3
Tracking all 50 down is a pain if you don't know where to look. You’ll find that a lot of them are tied to story missions, meaning if you aren't paying attention during a shootout, you’ll walk right past a piece of history.
The Delray Hollow Stash
Early on, you’ll find yourself in the Hollow. There’s an issue tucked away in the back of the Everyday Diner. It’s one of the first ones most people find. But then there's the one in the Baron Saturday’s Funland during the "Kill Ritchie Doucet" mission. If you’re too busy dodging bullets in the ferris wheel area, you'll miss the August 1964 issue sitting on a table in the maintenance room.
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The River Row Grime
River Row is depressing, let's be real. But it’s home to several issues. One is in a warehouse that you’ll likely hit while taking over the union rackets. Another is just sitting on a desk in a small shack near the water. The contrast between the high-society magazine and the literal swamp it's sitting in is peak Mafia 3.
Frisco Fields and the High Life
This is where the "pretty" people live, and the magazines here are often found in cleaner, more sterile environments. There’s an issue in a backyard garden shed that feels totally out of place, yet perfectly captures the "hidden" nature of the publication during the late 60s.
Tips for the Completionist
- Use your Intel View. It’s not just for spotting guards through walls. When you’re close to a collectible, it’ll pulse.
- Wiretap the Junction Boxes. This is the big one. If you don't wiretap the districts, the icons won't show up on your map. It’s a tedious mechanic, but if you want the full collection, you’ve gotta do it.
- Check the basements. Hangar 13 loved hiding things behind breakable crates or in dark corners of underground bunkers.
Why This Collection Caused a Stir
When Mafia 3 launched, there was some debate about whether this was "necessary" content. Some critics argued it was exploitative. Others pointed out that for a game dealing with heavy themes like the Black Power movement and the scars of Vietnam, having "lad mags" as the primary collectible felt a bit tonal-clashy.
But here’s the counter-argument: 1968 was a year of massive sexual revolution. Playboy was at the center of that. By putting Playboy magazines in Mafia 3, the game refuses to sanitize the past. It shows the world as it was—raw, messy, and obsessed with a very specific type of imagery. It’s an authentic artifact. It’s arguably more "real" than the fictional posters or fake brands you see in games like Grand Theft Auto.
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The game also features other collectibles like Alberto Vargas paintings and Repent magazine, but Playboy remains the crown jewel for most players. It’s the one people remember. It’s the one that feels like a genuine time capsule.
The Technical Side of Collecting
If you’re going for the "Canned Heat" or "Testing the Waters" achievements/trophies, you don't actually need all the Playboys, but they count toward your overall completion percentage. The UI for viewing them is surprisingly slick. You can zoom in on the covers and read the table of contents. It’s clear that a lot of work went into the licensing and scanning process.
You sort of start to recognize the different eras of the magazine as you play. The early 60s issues look drastically different from the 1967 and 1968 ones. The graphic design shifts. The fashion changes. It’s a subtle way of showing the passage of time, even if the game itself is set in a relatively tight window.
Final Thoughts on the Hunt
Collecting every single one of the Playboy magazines in Mafia 3 is a journey through a very specific part of American history. It’s gritty, it’s controversial, and it’s deeply rooted in the 1960s aesthetic. Whether you're doing it for the trophies or because you genuinely enjoy the historical snippets, it adds a layer of reality that most games are too afraid to touch.
Actionable Steps for Your Next Playthrough:
- Prioritize Wiretapping: Don't even bother hunting until you've placed transistors in the junction boxes for the district you're in. It saves hours of aimless driving.
- Slow Down During Missions: Many issues are located in "one-time" areas or places that are much harder to access once the combat encounter is over. Check every office and side room before you leave a mission zone.
- Read the Interviews: Don't just click "collect" and move on. Read the snippets of the Kubrick or Martin Luther King Jr. interviews. It actually provides context for the world Lincoln Clay is trying to survive in.
- Check the Bayou Early: The Bayou Fantom is a nightmare to navigate at night. Get those collectibles out of the way early so you can focus on the urban districts where the driving is easier.
At the end of the day, New Bordeaux is a city built on secrets. Some of those secrets are buried in shallow graves, and some are printed on glossy paper tucked under a mobster's bed. Both are equally part of the story Mafia 3 is trying to tell.