2K Games lays off a large part of the staff of Mafia III developer Hangar 13

2K Games is firmly intervening in Hangar 13, the studio that delivered Mafia III in 2016. The publisher is laying off a large part of the staff, although it is not known how many employees are involved. The studio is not working on a new game yet.

Publisher 2K Games admits to website Kotaku that it intervened at Hangar 13, which it owns. However, the publisher does not want to say how many staff members of the American studio have been fired. The publisher does report that the publisher’s planning is not endangered. The intervention at Hangar 13 was necessary “to ensure that the studio’s resources are aligned with its long-term plans.”

From rumors Kotaku heard, the website concluded that 2K Games has laid off a large part of Hangar 13’s staff. According to Kotaku’s sources, Hangar 13 has spent the past year prototyping a new game. Apparently it didn’t appeal to 2K. The studio is said to have created a game in which players fight to the beat of music and that bears a resemblance to Chroma, a project by Guitar Hero developer Harmonix that also failed to finish.

Hangar 13 was established in 2014 and was housed on an old air base. Mafia III is the studio’s first and, for now, only project. Owner 2K Games merged the studio in 2017 with its own studio in Prague, previously known as 2K Czech and Illusion Softworks. The Prague studio made the first two parts of the Mafia series. It is unknown whether the series will get a fourth part.