things don’t look good Mafia 3 developer Hangar 13as the studio has received more layoffs following recent leadership departures.
Earlier this month, a report detailed that Hangar 13 is working on a new Mafia game, this time a prequel, and the company has seen a number of major departures. Studio head Haden Blackman and COO Matthew Urban are among them. Now, according to Kotaku, the studio has gone through further layoffs after already accepting two layoffs in 2017 and 2018.
According to the report, layoffs occurred at all three locations around the world, with nearly 50 people out of work at Hangar 13’s Novato, Calif., office. “I know it sucks,” Nick Baines, Blackman’s successor and head of the Brighton UK office, said at a staff meeting earlier this week.
“I’m sorry I didn’t go there to deliver the message. I’ll be over soon. I know you need some local leadership and structure and we’re working on it.”
The Novato office currently h as 87 employees, according to Kotaku sources familiar with the decision, which means there will be only about 37 employees left after the layoffs. Mafia 3 launched in 2016, when Novato apparently had more than 100 full-time employees.
2K confirmed the layoffs in a statement provided to Kotaku, but did not provide further comment. “2K is fully committed to the future of Hangar 13 as the studio is going through a challenging but ultimately promising transition period. As part of our ongoing evaluation to ensure our resources are aligned with our goals, we made Some changes have resulted in fewer positions and parting ways with some colleagues.”
According to reports, Hangar 13 will continue to develop a prequel game, allegedly developed in Unreal Engine 5, as well as a tennis game.But the studio has struggled since Mafia 3 launched, Kotaku’s report says parent company take two Think of Hangar 13 as a “source code studio” and use it to assist games, e.g. Little Tina’s Wonderland and Marvel’s Midnight Sun.
Baines apparently said no further layoffs will be made for anyone still at the company, but given the past few years, it’s understandable if employees have concerns.
