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Mafia III Developer Hangar 13 Hit With Layoffs
Hangar 13, the development studio behind Mafia III, today was hit with layoffs that affected, "a significant number" of its staff, according to a report from Kotaku.
A representative from Mafia III publisher 2K Games provided Game Informer with the following statement:
“2K can confirm that there have been staff reductions at Hangar 13 in order to ensure that the studio’s resources are properly aligned with its long-term development plans. These reductions will not influence 2K’s ability to create and deliver its products that are currently in development. We never take these matters lightly, and are working with the affected employees to support them and explore potential opportunities throughout our organization.”
The number of people laid off was not specified. According to the initial report from Kotaku, one person associated with Hangar 13 says the developer has been hard at work figuring out what its next project is. A discarded idea was a third-person "fight to music" action game in which the player's moves would formulate a song. This perhaps could have been the game two former Horizon: Zero Dawn developers were working on.
Mafia III, Hangar 13's first game, actually did pretty well commercially with over five million units shipped. Read our review of Mafia III here.
[Source: Kotaku]
Our
Take
It's always tragic when a development
studio takes major hits, especially when the game was a commercial success and
the studio is reportedly in the midst of conjuring an original property,
something that's always refreshing in the industry. We wish those who were laid
off the best of luck.
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