Mafia 3 was met with mixed reviews when it launched in 2016, but the game has proven to be a major hit for 2K Games, shipping 4.5 million units in its first week on sale alone. Judging by these sales numbers and the praise given to its story and characters, it's clear that studio Hangar 13 has potential to create something special with its next project. As it so happens, the studio has hired some big name talent this past year to achieve just that, including Horizon: Zero Dawn lead quest designer David Ford.

Ford is joining the Mafia 3 developer as a design director, but he won't be the only former Guerrilla Games member of the staff. Earlier this year, Guerrilla Games senior producer Mark Norris also jumped ship to Hangar 13, along with devs that have worked on projects like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and the Call of Duty franchise.

Now the question is, what game is Hangar 13 working on? Considering the sales success of Mafia 3, one has to imagine that the studio is hard at work on Mafia 4. Then again, it could be working on a brand new open world IP instead.

Regardless, Hangar 13's recent talent acquisitions are impressive and should go a long way in ensuring its next game fixes Mafia 3's problems. While Mafia 3's story and characters were praised in many reviews, criticism was aimed at its boring open world and bevy of glitches. By bringing proven designers like Ford and Norris aboard, it could put Mafia 4 or whatever the studio's next game is on track to fix those issues and deliver a more polished experience.

With Mafia 3's third and final piece of story DLC releasing this past summer, Hangar 13 can now focus all of its efforts on its next game. It may be years before we actually learn anything about the project, but with developers that worked on critically-acclaimed open world games like Horizon: Zero Dawn joining the team, it's hard to blame fans for already getting excited.

Mafia 3 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: IGN