 In a press release on August 8, EA officially announced the game, which would be released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and was slated for a February 2009 release.In the press release, EA stated

Speaking of "Don's View", executive producer Hunter Smith stated

EA first showed the game on August 14, in a non-playable beta build of the Xbox 360 version.They revealed their main design strategy had been "Act like a mobster, think like a Don;" they wanted to enhance the features from the first game, such as extortion methods and shooting, but also include an element whereby the player would be able to control their entire family on a larger scale.