Hangar 13

Hangar 13 is a developer.

Hangar 13 Webpage, Facebook

Hangar 13 is an American development studio, founded in 2014 and owned by the publishing company 2K Games. The company is headquartered in Novato, Marin County, north of San Francisco (USA) - the same location as 2K Games' headquarters. The studio is headed by industry legend Haden Blackman, former executive producer at the legendary LucasArts and screenwriter of hits such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed.

Since its founding, Hangar 13's mission has been to create AAA games based on proprietary technologies, with rich narratives and allowing players significant freedom in shaping their gameplay. Unlike other big-budget studios, Hangar 13 is relatively small - a sentiment consistent with Haden Blackman's work philosophy, which favors small development teams working in intimate settings where all team members know each other by name and can collaborate seamlessly.

History of Hangar 13

Hangar 13's origins date back to 2012, when representatives of 2K Czech (formerly Illusion Softworks) announced they were working on another top-secret AAA project. Coming from the creators of the popular Mafia series, it quickly became clear that this was the third installment. Development on the game, initially designed for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360, dragged on significantly, and the studio struggled with numerous production problems. As a result, 2K Games management decided in early 2014 to restructure the company and close the Prague branch of 2K Czech.

The beginning of operations and Mafia III

In December 2014, 2K Games announced the opening of a completely new studio called Hangar 13 (a name that had, incidentally, been registered several months earlier). The team was led by a true gaming industry legend, Haden Blackman, who held a key position at LucasArts for thirteen years and wrote several comic book scripts for DC Comics and Marvel between 2010 and 2014. The Hangar 13 team included developers with experience at LucasArts and 2K Marin, while a significant portion of the team consisted of 2K Czech employees relocated to California following the company's restructuring.

Mafia III was formally announced during gamescom 2015 and previously rumours were confirmed that the game would be developed by Hangar 13, with the creators of the two previous installments of the series, 2K Czech, acting as consultants.Mafia III debuted on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on October 7, 2016. Even though the first reviews were not optimistic (industry critics criticized the title primarily for numerous bugs and a poor gameplay concept), its launch turned out to be the biggest in the history of 2K Games. The developers did not intend to rest on their laurels and in the following months they focused not only on fixing the bugs plaguing their work, but also on preparing paid DLCs. In February 2017, however, it was revealed that the game had sold below expectations, and a year later, dark clouds appeared over the Hangar 13 studio when the decision was made to lay off some of its employees.

Development of the Mafia series

In May 2020, it became clear that the aforementioned disruptions didn't mean the end of the studio. At that time, a compilation called Mafia Trilogy was announced, consisting of Mafia: Definitive Edition, Mafia II: Definitive Edition, and Mafia III: Definitive Edition. While the latter was a remaster of the second installment in the series, and the third game was a refreshed and updated edition of the third installment, enriched with all the DLCs, the former turned out to be a full-fledged remake of the iconic Mafia from 2002. Because of this, players had to wait a bit longer for it – although the Definitive Edition of Mafia II and Mafia III debuted on May 19th, the remake of the first installment, like the entire trilogy, was not scheduled for release until September 25th.

In July 2020, the developers at Hangar 13 hinted to players that they are working on a full-fledged fourth installment in the series. Mafia: The Old Country was announced on August 2024. As it later turned out, it was a prequel to the entire series, set in early 20th-century Sicily. Interestingly, this time the open world was abandoned in favor of a more linear adventure.