Mafia prequel in development at Hangar 13

[Infinitron]

https://kotaku.com/mafia-4-release-date-hangar-13-haden-blackman-lucasarts-1848883555

Hangar 13 Bosses Leave, New Mafia In Development
LucasArts veteran Haden Blackman leaves the troubled 2K studio with Mafia 4 early in development

Hangar 13 studio head Haden Blackman is leaving the Mafia III maker after seven years, 2K Games announced Wednesday. The publisher wrote in an email to staff that the former LucasArts veteran is going to “pursue his passion at a new endeavor.” Kotaku understands that the move comes with a new Mafia game very early in development at Hangar 13, according to a source familiar with the plans.

“We are grateful for Haden’s leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and Czech, and releasing multiple studio-defining Mafia games and collections,” 2K wrote in an internal communication shared with VentureBeat and others. “What Haden helped build will continue to carry forward and grow for years to come. We support all of our employees pursuing their passions, and we wish nothing but the best for him in what’s next.”

What 2K didn’t mention in the email was that Matthew Urban, Hangar 13 chief operating officer, has also left the studio. “What an amazing ride at H13.......let’s see what is next,” he wrote on LinkedIn. These shifts come as Hangar 13 pivots from original projects back to established franchises like Mafia, the open world, third-person shooter series that’s often compared to Grand Theft Auto—except with a more mob-movie approach.

Replacing Blackman is Nick Baynes, currently studio head at Hangar 13's Brighton, UK office, which Kotaku understands to be leading development on a new Mafia game. While the project is still early in development, its code name is Nero and it’s expected to be a prequel to the Mafia trilogy. The plan is to make it in Unreal Engine 5 instead of the Mafia III engine that was recently used for the remasters.

“With 30 years of industry leadership experience, Nick joined Hangar 13 in 2018 to establish Hangar 13 Brighton, and has spent the last four years growing the team, building up the studio’s capabilities, and launching terrific projects like Mafia: Definitive Edition and the Mafia Trilogy,” 2K told staff Wednesday.

Hangar 13 has been in a precarious position for years. After shipping the ambitious Mafia III, it suffered two rounds of layoffs, first in 2017 and then again in 2018. The studio had several ideas for new IPs during this time and beyond. As previously reported by Kotaku, one was a spy game revolving around music cues called Rhapsody. Another was a class-based co-op action game in the vein of Destiny 2. Code-named Volt, it was quietly cancelled by parent company Take-Two last year after $53 million had already been spent on development. A third new IP code-named Mosaic was a loot-based ARPG and was also abandoned before it was ever officially revealed.

More recently, Take-Two has been using Hangar 13 developers to assist on its other published games like Gearbox’s recently released loot shooter Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. Most are still working remotely, and Kotaku has been told that some, following Blackman and Urban, are also looking for the door.

2K Games declined to comment. Here’s the full email announcing Blackman’s departure:

Hello team,

It’s with mixed emotions that I share with you several leadership updates from Hangar 13.

Haden Blackman is stepping down as Studio Head of Hangar 13, and is leaving the company to pursue his passion at a new endeavor. We are grateful for Haden’s leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and Czech, and releasing multiple studio-defining Mafia games and collections. What Haden helped build will continue to carry forward and grow for years to come. We support all of our employees pursuing their passions, and we wish nothing but the best for him in what’s next.

Nick Baynes, Studio Head of Hangar 13 Brighton will take over as Studio Head of Hangar 13. With 30 years of industry leadership experience, Nick joined Hangar 13 in 2018 to establish Hangar 13 Brighton, and has spent the last four years growing the team, building up the studio’s capabilities, and launching terrific projects like Mafia: Definitive Edition and the Mafia Trilogy.

I hope you’ll join me in thanking Haden and wishing him the best, and congratulating Nick on a well-deserved promotion. While change can be challenging, it can also breed new opportunities and success.

We are confident the studio is in great hands heading into the multiple projects currently under way, and the team has 2K’s full support.

2K​

 

[Don Salieri]

Look how they massacred my boy. Illusion Softworks made one good game in 2002 and 2K are still beating this dead race horse, 20 years later. They bungled up every project they tried like the clowns they are and now they're going to throw together a cash-in in the Unreal Engine trying to retroactively piss all over the original game, as if the remake wasn't disrespect enough. They better shut down before releasing this mess.

 

[normie]

fuck Hangar 13

more like Coathanger 13 do 50

 

[Lemming42]

Prequel? How? Mafia opens (if you don't count the framing device) in 1930. Go much earlier than that and we'll be having horse and carriage chases rather than car chases.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Booooooooooooooooooring.

 

[Star Citizen]

Booooooooooooooooooring.

 

[luj1]

creativity crisis

 

[karoliner]

Ewww

 

[ADL]

Prequel? Lame. I wanted the 1960s-1970s Vegas mafia game they were working on.
Could've been great.

 

[Modron]

Prequel? How? Mafia opens (if you don't count the framing device) in 1930. Go much earlier than that and we'll be having horse and carriage chases rather than car chases.

There were plenty of car manufactures in the 1900-1930s in addition to Ford's models. Heck they were still mass producing steam driven cars into the mid 30s would be cool to see some of those.
1924

1912

1909

1903 setting a speed record

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

yeah, it must be truly exciting, a game about racing cars which went slower than men on foot.

 

[Modron]

yeah, it must be truly exciting, a game about racing cars which went slower than men on foot.

So slow, 1906 steam speed record was 127 mph.

Fred Marriott (31 December 1872, Needham, Massachusetts - 28 April 1956) was an American race car driver. In 1906, he set the world land speed record at 127.659 mph (205.5 km/h) at the Daytona Beach Road Course, while driving the Stanley Land Speed Record Car.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Marriott

 

[MadMaxHellfire]

https://www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2017/01/motoring-milestones/

1901
Rules of the road. Connecticut enacts first speed limit law for motorists — 12 mph in the city and 15 mph on country roads.

dem fast carz.

 

[Terra]

The remake of Mafia 1 was decent, yet Mafia 3 shows that as soon as they stray from an existing title, all the usual open-world checkboxes get trotted out. Never finished 3 as the only decent missions were gated behind open world busywork, so can't say I'm hugely excited for another new entry unless they can hold themselves back from the Ubisoft-esque open world elements their focus groups clearly want. Playing through Mafia 1 + 2 recently and what stood out was precisely that they didn't overstay their welcome with busywork "content" and just told solid, compelling stories over the space of 20~ hours.

 

[Infinitron]

https://kotaku.com/mafia-3-sequel-hangar-13-layoffs-2k-marvels-midnight-su-1848982387

Cursed Mafia III Studio Hangar 13 Hit With New Round Of Layoffs After Canceled Projects
The 2K studio will focus on a Mafia prequel and tennis games moving forward

Hangar 13 can’t catch a break. The studio behind Mafia III, which suffered multiple rounds of layoffs in the years that followed its 2016 launch, is once again on the chopping block. Kotaku has learned that in addition to a steady stream of departures, developers across the studio’s three global sites have been let go, with close to 50 laid off at Hangar 13's Novato, California office. The news comes soon after former studio head Haden Blackman resigned earlier this month.

“I know it sucks,” Blackman’s successor, Nick Baynes, head of Hangar 13's Brighton, UK office, told Novato staff in a meeting today, according to a recording obtained by Kotaku. “I’m sorry I’m not over there to deliver this message. I will be coming over soon. I know you need some local leadership and structure and we’re working on it.”

Of the roughly 87 staff currently assigned to the Novato facility, just under 50 will be cut, according to a source familiar with the decision. When Mafia III originally shipped, the Novato studio had over 100 full-time employees.

A 2K spokesman confirmed the layoffs in a statement, but would not comment further:

2K is fully committed to the future of Hangar 13 as the studio navigates a challenging but ultimately promising transition period. As part of our ongoing evaluations to ensure our resources are aligned with our goals, we have made some changes that have resulted in a reduction of positions and parting ways with some colleagues. These decisions are always difficult. We are doing all we can to work with the impacted employees to find them new roles on other projects and teams at 2K, and are providing full support to those who cannot be redeployed, connecting them with industry networks and resources to find new opportunities outside of 2K.​

After shipping Mafia III, Hangar 13, which also includes the remains of 2K Czech, prototyped a number of original IPs. But the studio faced layoffs in 2017 and 2018, and eventually saw most of its new projects cancelled, including one code-named Volt, which parent company Take-Two quietly shut down last November despite already investing over $50 million into it. The rapid cancellations left hundreds of developers without a project.

Ever since, many developers at Hangar 13 have been aimlessly shifting around from one Take-Two game to another. As Kotaku reported earlier this month, the Brighton office is currently leading early production on a new Mafia prequel that will be built in Unreal Engine 5. The game’s currently planned to take place in Italy. But Take-Two has also been treating Hangar 13 like an “in-source” studio, using it to assist with development on its other published games like Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Kerbal Space Program 2, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.

As developers have finished their tasks on some of those projects, some have been shifted onto the Mafia prequel. Others have joined “Project Hammer,” which Kotaku understands to be a return of the beloved Top Spin tennis series, and expected to launch before the new Mafia. Baynes said during the meeting that the plan is for Hangar 13 to focus almost exclusively on both of those franchises moving forward.

Some of the left-over developers been jumping ship, and it now appears 2K has made the decision to lay off the rest. It’s not clear what the extent of the layoffs are overseas, but Baynes said on the call those affected could still look to transfer to other roles within the larger 2K organization.

“I hope that as many of you as possible hopefully all of you but hopefully as many of you as possible stick with us and give us some time to make things right and better in the future,” he said during the meeting. “But I do understand it has been probably a bit of rough time recently culminating in some of the news yesterday.”

One big question is whether there will be more layoffs in the future. But Baynes tried to downplay those fears. “Anyone that is still here, we want you here as part of our future,” he said.

 

[gerey]

 

[rusty_shackleford]

kotaku simping for shit studios because they produce games with minorities, what's new

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Wherever the name "Haden Blackman" lands, a curse follows. Dude was the director of the shockingly average The Force Unleashed, the utterly shitty sequel, the canceled 1313, the underwhelming Mafia 3, and a couple of subsequently canceled games.

Lol.

I guess the prequel should be fine if its made by the Czech studio.

 

[deuxhero]

Prequel? How? Mafia opens (if you don't count the framing device) in 1930. Go much earlier than that and we'll be having horse and carriage chases rather than car chases.

There were plenty of car manufactures in the 1900-1930s in addition to Ford's models. Heck they were still mass producing steam driven cars into the mid 30s would be cool to see some of those.
1924

This is the 1927 Sears catalog's offering for replacement car batteries.

Note: Electric start wasn't standard till later in 1927 (when Ford moved to the Model A) so it's possible there's cars of this era that didn't have batteries (I think at least one state required headlights by this point)

 

[Lawson Ashurst]

I had a fun time with Mafia 3 and really enjoyed the Mafia 1 remake.

If it comes out I'll probably pick it up 6 months to a year after launch.

Mafia games always scratch a period piece itch that I really like.

 

[deuxhero]

Prequel? How? Mafia opens (if you don't count the framing device) in 1930. Go much earlier than that and we'll be having horse and carriage chases rather than car chases.

There were plenty of car manufactures in the 1900-1930s in addition to Ford's models. Heck they were still mass producing steam driven cars into the mid 30s would be cool to see some of those.
1924

This is the 1927 Sears catalog's offering for replacement car batteries.

Note: Electric start wasn't standard till later in 1927 (when Ford moved to the Model A) so it's possible there's cars of this era that didn't have batteries (I think at least one state required headlights by this point)

Just remembered, another thing that would add variety is the replacement bodies for Model Ts that kept showing up in catalogs of this era. I know Ford themselves made at least one (Truck variant, may have been Australia only). Also for the record, aftermarket paintjob kits were common in these catalogs too, so not all Model Ts would be black (not to mention the periods in production that did come in different colors).

 

[1451]

 

[deuxhero]

And to totally kill any "All cars of the 1920s were Model Ts", here's a trade association list of car prices in 1921 and another in 1926.
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=iau.31858044954240&view=1up&seq=187&q1=ford 325
https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015039678241&view=1up&seq=108&skin=2021

 

[orcinator]

We're going to be making a gang based on Gangs of New York (but BLACK) or a Noble Efreekan Warrior in Imperial Rome

 

[Infinitron]

https://mafiagame.com/news/mafia-20th-anniversary-developer-interview/

Lastly, can you tell us anything about what's next for the Mafia franchise?

Hladík: I'm happy to confirm we've started work on an all-new Mafia project! While it's a few years away and we can't share anything more right now, we're really excited to keep working on this beloved franchise and to entertain our players with new stories.