Image: Hangar 13 / 2K
Hangar 13 can’t rest. The study behind Mafia III, which suffered several rounds of layoffs in the years following its launch in 2016, is back on track. Kotaku has learned that in addition to a steady stream of releases, developers at the studio’s three global sites have been laid off, with nearly 50 laid off at Hangar’s Novato, California, 13 office. comes shortly after former studio boss Haden Blackman resigned earlier this month.
“I know it’s shit,” Blackman’s successor Nick Baynes, chief of Brightar’s UK office in Hangar 13, told rookie staff at a meeting today, according to a recording obtained by Kotaku. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to deliver this message. I’ll be back soon. I know you need some local leadership and structure and we’re working on it.”
Of the approximately 87 employees currently assigned to Novato’s facilities, just under 50 will be cut, according to a source familiar with the decision. When Mafia III was originally shipped, the Novato studio had more than 100 full-time employees.
A 2K spokesman confirmed the layoffs in a statement, but did 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 assessments to ensure that our resources are aligned with our goals, we have made some changes that have resulted in a reduction in placement and separation from some colleagues. These decisions are always difficult. We are doing our best to work with affected employees to find them new roles in other 2K projects and teams, and we are fully supporting those who cannot be redistributed, connecting them with industry networks and resources to find new ones. opportunities outside of 2K.
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After sending Mafia III, Hangar 13, which also includes the remnants of 2K Czech, prototyped a number of original IPs. But the studio faced layoffs in 2017 and 2018, and most of its new projects were eventually canceled, including one codenamed Volt, which parent company Take-Two silently shut down. last November, even though it already invested more than $ 50 million. The quick cancellations left hundreds of developers without a project.
Since then, many Hangar 13 developers have gone aimlessly from one Take-Two game to another. As reported by Kotaku earlier this month, the Brighton office is currently leading the initial production of a new mafia prequel to be built on Unreal Engine 5. The game is currently scheduled to take place in Italy . But Take-Two has also been treating Hangar 13 as an “in-source” studio, using it to help develop its other published games such as Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Kerbal Space Program 2 and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
As developers have completed their work on some of these projects, some have moved on to the mafia prequel. Others have joined “Project Hammer,” which Kotaku understands is a return of the beloved Top Spin tennis series, and which is expected to be released before the new mob. Baynes said during the meeting that the plan is for Hangar 13 to focus almost exclusively on the two advancing franchises.
Some of the remaining developers have been jumping on the bandwagon, and now it looks like 2K has made the decision to fire the rest. It is unclear what the scope of the layoffs abroad is, but Baynes said in the call that those affected could still seek to transfer to other functions within the larger 2K organization.
“I hope as many as possible, we hope all of you, but we hope as many of you as possible stay with us and give us time to do things right and better in the future,” he said during the meeting. “But I understand it’s probably been a bit difficult recently that culminated in some of yesterday’s news.”
A big question is whether there will be more layoffs in the future. But Baynes tried to downplay these fears. “Anyone who is still here, we want you here as part of our future,” he said.
Updated: 5/26/22 3:07 PM ET: 2K comment added.