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Hangar 13

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For the night club called Hanger 13, see Ayr Pavilion.

Hangar 13
Company typeDivision
IndustryVideo games
FoundedDecember 4, 2014; 9 years ago (2014-12-04)
FounderHaden Blackman
Headquarters
Novato, California
,
US
Number of locations
4 studios (2018)
Key people
Nick Baynes (studio head)
Products
Parent2K
Websitehangar13games.com

Hangar 13 is an American video game developer based in Novato, California, in the area of the former Hamilton Air Force Base. Established with Haden Blackman in December 2014 as a division of 2K (a publishing label of Take-Two Interactive), the company's debut game was Mafia III, released in October 2016. In 2017, 2K Czech was merged into Hangar 13, wherefore the studio received two additional studios in Brno and Prague; another studio was opened in Brighton in 2018. Their second title, Mafia: Definitive Edition, was released in September 2020. Their third title, TopSpin 2K25, was released in April 2024.

History

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Hangar 13 was formed around September 2013, when 2K Games announced that Rod Fergusson would be running a new San Francisco studio.[1] However, Fergusson left the position by January 2014, which he claimed was due to "creative differences" with management.[2]

On December 4, 2014, 2K announced that it had set up a new game studio, Hangar 13, led by Haden Blackman, formerly creative director for LucasArts.[3] Blackman told GamesBeat that the studio would work on a game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[4] Mafia III, the studio's debut title, was announced in August 2015.[5] 2K Czech, the developer of previous entries in the Mafia series, had a supporting role in the game's development.[6] Mafia III was released on October 7, 2016, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.[7] In 2017, 2K Czech was merged into Hangar 13.[8]

In February 2018, 2K announced that Hangar 13 had been hit with sizable layoffs, without disclosing exact numbers.[9] At the time, Hangar 13 was brainstorming ideas for its next game—one idea included a "fight to music" system through which the player's movement would create songs, similar to Harmonix's cancelled game Chroma.[10] In May 2018, Hangar 13 opened an additional studio in Brighton, UK, headed by Nick Baynes.[11][12] In July 2018, the studio announced that it was working on a new intellectual property.[13]

In March 2019, it was announced that the studio had collaborated with Gearbox Software to develop a free update for Borderlands: The Handsome Collection, which added 4K graphics to the remastered versions of Borderlands 2 and Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel.[14]

In May 2020, 2K and Hangar 13 announced the Mafia: Trilogy. This contained a remake of the first Mafia, a remaster of Mafia II (developed by d3t) and a platinum version of Mafia III comprised with its additional story packs. These editions were available as a bundle or individually. Both the original Mafia II and Mafia III owners on Steam and console had their editions upgraded at no cost.[15]

In November 2021, it was confirmed that Volt, an unannounced game by Hangar 13, was cancelled by Take-Two Interactive after running up a loss of $53 million in production costs.[16][17] In May 2022, Blackman announced his impending departure from the company. He is to be succeeded by Hangar 13 Brighton studio head Nick Baynes.[18] Later that month, after Baynes had taken over, Hangar 13 laid off people across its four studios, of which the Novato headquarters dismissed 50 of its 87 employees.[19] It was reported that Hangar 13 was in the early stages of development for a prequel to the Mafia: Trilogy as well as a new entry to the Top Spin series; Hangar 13 is also awaiting a greenlight from its parent company to begin development on a fifth entry to the Mafia series alongside its prequel, as Baynes describes, to keep its developers employed at the studio for a smooth transition from one game to another.[20]

Blackman left Hangar 13 in May 2022, with Baynes taking over his role.[21] In August 2022, development on a new Mafia game was confirmed to have started.[22] According to the game's Steam page, Mafia: The Old Country will be released in 2025.[23]

Games developed

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Year Title Platform(s)
2016 Mafia III Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia
2020 Mafia: Definitive Edition Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
2024 TopSpin 2K25 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
2025 Mafia: The Old Country Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Notes

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References

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  1. ^ Ligman, Kris (September 26, 2013). "Epic, Irrational alumnus to helm 2K's newest studio". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  2. ^ Watts, Steve (January 21, 2020). "Gears Of War Boss Says He Left Mafia 3 Over "Creative Differences"". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 21, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2020.
  3. ^ McWhertor, Michael (December 4, 2014). "2K Games forms new studio led by ex-LucasArts creative director Haden Blackman". Polygon. Archived from the original on June 8, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  4. ^ Takahashi, Dean (December 4, 2014). "2K launches brand new console game studio Hangar 13". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on August 7, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2017.
  5. ^ Nunneley, Stephany (August 5, 2015). "Mafia 3: here's the reveal trailer as promised". VG247. Archived from the original on May 28, 2016. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  6. ^ Hanson, Ben (October 14, 2015). "Who The Hell Is Mafia III Developer Hangar 13?". Game Informer. Archived from the original on August 22, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  7. ^ Makuch, Eddie (April 19, 2016). "Mafia 3 Release Date Announced, New Trailer and Deluxe Versions Revealed". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 13, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  8. ^ Sinclair, Brendan (January 4, 2018). "Have you seen these studios?". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  9. ^ Bailey, Dustin (February 15, 2018). "Mafia 3 developers Hangar 13 hit with layoffs". PCGamesN. Archived from the original on February 24, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  10. ^ Schreier, Jason (February 15, 2018). "Big Layoffs Hit Mafia III Developer Hangar 13". Kotaku. Archived from the original on February 16, 2018. Retrieved February 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Dring, Christopher (May 16, 2018). "Mafia III developer Hangar 13 opens UK studio for AAA console game". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on May 16, 2018. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  12. ^ MCV Staff (May 15, 2018). "Split/Second game director heading up Mafia III dev's new Brighton office". MCV.
  13. ^ Green, Brandon (July 19, 2018). "Mafia III Developer Hangar 13 Confirm They are Working on a new IP". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on March 31, 2019. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  14. ^ @Borderlands (March 29, 2019). "Sending the hugest of shout-outs and thanks to the devs at @Blind_Squirrel_ for their work on Borderlands: Game of the Year Edition and to @Hangar13Games for their work on The Handsome Collection Ultra HD Pack! You rock!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  15. ^ Juba, Joe. "Everything You Need To Know About The Mafia Trilogy Definitive Editions". Game Informer. Archived from the original on April 22, 2021. Retrieved March 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Schreier, Jason (November 3, 2021). "Take-Two's 2K Cancels $53 Million Game From Hangar 13". Bloomberg News. Archived from the original on November 7, 2021. Retrieved November 8, 2021.
  17. ^ "Take-Two Cancels Unannounced $53 Million Dollar Game By Hangar 13". Kotaku. November 3, 2021. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  18. ^ Takahashi, Dean (May 4, 2022). "Haden Blackman steps down as head of 2K's Hangar 13". VentureBeat. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  19. ^ Batchelor, James (May 26, 2022). "Mafia 3 developer Hangar 13 suffers another round of layoffs". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 27, 2022.
  20. ^ Onder, Cade (May 26, 2022). "Mafia 5 Reportedly Being Planned by Hanger 13 Amidst Mafia 4 Development". ComicBook.com. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  21. ^ "Hangar 13 Bosses Leave, New Mafia In Development". Kotaku. May 5, 2022. Archived from the original on March 22, 2023. Retrieved March 22, 2023.
  22. ^ Bailey, Kat (August 29, 2022). "'All-New Mafia Game' Confirmed to be in Development". IGN. Archived from the original on September 3, 2022. Retrieved September 4, 2022.
  23. ^ "Mafia: The Old Country on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
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