A mafia prequel is reportedly in development as several bosses leave Hanger 13

A new report claims that a new mafia The game is in development due to several bosses leaving the studio hanger 13.

According to Kotaku, Hanger 13 studio head Haden Blackman is leaving the studio after seven years with the company, as announced by 2K games earlier this week. The report states that 2K Games wrote in an email to employees that Blackman “will be pursuing his passion in a new venture,” and Kotaku believes the move coincides with a new mafia game in development, reportedly a prequels

“We are grateful for Haden’s leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and Czech Republic, and releasing several studio-defining mafia games and collections,” 2K wrote in the internal email, which was shared by VentureBeat. “What Haden helped build will continue and grow in the years to come. We support all of our employees in pursuing their passions and wish him all the best for the future.”

Chief Operating Officer Matthew Urban has also left the studio, according to Kotaku, although that wasn’t included in 2K’s email. The report goes on to explain that the personnel change comes as Hanger 13 transitions from its original projects back to its established franchises like Mafia.

Nick Baynes will replace Blackman, currently studio head at Hanger 13’s office in Brighton, UK, where this new mafia game is said to be being developed. It’s apparently codenamed Nero, with plans to make it in Unreal Engine 5 rather than the Mafia III Engine used for the last remasters.

The first game of Hanger 13 was the third entry in the Mafia series released in 2016 and later also worked on the revamped version of Mafia released in 2020. Unfortunately, the studio received two layoffs, in 2017 and 2018 respectively at the time, and was also working on several ideas for new IPs.