While it’s still too early to officially name it Mafia 4, Kotaku sources speak of a game set before the events of the trilogy, knowing that the first Mafia, which received a remake in 2020 by Hangar 13, takes place in the 1930s. The code name of this project still at the beginning of its development is Nero and the studio plans to rely on Unreal Engine 5 technology instead of the in-house engine used for the recent remake. Besides the Mafia remake, Hangar 13 employees have been able to keep busy by helping out with other Take-Two productions, including Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. The departures of President Haden Blackman, but also of Director of Operations Matthew Urban, now embody the desire for a new start.
Returning to an established franchise like Mafia, whose last installment in the trilogy had reached 5 million copies very quickly, is not a surprising choice for Hangar 13 given the turmoil the studio has been through since 2016. After having initially shelved the idea of making Mafia 4 (which would have been set in Las Vegas in the 70s, way Casino Scorsese), Haden Blackman’s studio had set itself the goal of developing its own new license and explored several avenues, as explained by Jason Schreier in the spring of 2018. One thing is certain, this new license was canceled by Take-Two last fall resulted in more than 50 million dollars thrown out the window, but no layoffs to deplore (Hangar 13 had however already lost feathers in 2017 and 2018).
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