It looks as though there may be tough times ahead for a prominent North American video game developer. Not for the first time, Hangar 13, the studio that worked on the most recent Mafia games, faces a bump in the road and uncertainty about its future following a statement from the head of the studio.
Hangar 13, a studio based out of Novato, California, was formed in 2014 as a division of 2K and released its debut title, Mafia 3, two years later in 2016. The team followed this up with Mafia: Definitive Edition in 2020, but it has been far from smooth sailing for Hangar 13 throughout its relatively short existence.
It has been revealed by Hangar 13's studio head Nick Baynes, who recently succeeded Haden Blackman in the role, that the company is to be hit with a fairly substantial round of layoffs. According to a report from Kotaku on the recent development, the Novato, California site will see nearly 50 of its 87 current staff let go. It's worth noting that at the time of the release of Mafia 3, the California facility had over 100 full-time employees.
Baynes delivered the news from Hangar 13's Brighton, UK office. The studio has a satellite studio there as well as two more in Prague and Brno in the Czech Republic. It's unclear if the layoffs will affect these sites also or to what extent employee cutbacks may be if they do. Staff at all of the studio's offices may be apprehensive at the moment as this is not the first time Hangar 13 has seen substantial layoffs.
Parent company Take-Two Interactive last year announced the cancellation of a $50 million project Hangar 13 was developing. At the time, development staff were reassigned to other projects under the Take-Two umbrella, and it was announced that there would be no staff cuts. Now, less than a year later, Hangar 13 staff once again find themselves on the chopping block.
Baynes has stated that the staff still left with the studio are safe and there is no risk of further layoffs. Hangar 13 continues to work on two projects, including a Mafia prequel, and Take-Two seems happy to continue using Hangar 13 staff on other projects at other studios under its ownership. Hopefully, this means that Hangar 13 can enjoy more stability moving forward and will provide peace of mind to remaining employees that they are secure in their roles.
Mafia: Definitive Edition is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
Source: Kotaku