Kotaku reports Hangar 12 has been hit with another round of layoffs. The developers at the studio were told today by Nick Baynes, the head of Hangar 13.
Baynes took over for Haden Blackman, who stepped down from his role at the 2K studio last month “to pursue his passion at a new endeavour.” Baynes has been in the role for weeks after joining the company in 2018.
“I know it sucks,” Nick Baynes, told staff in a meeting that was obtained by Kotaku. “I’m sorry I’m not over there to deliver this message. I will be coming over soon. I know you need some local leadership and structure and we’re working on it.”
The Novato office holds 87 staff members currently and around 50 members will be let go, sources aware of the situation have said.
A spokesman on behalf of 2K confirmed the layouts stating: 2K is fully committed to the future of Hangar 13 as the studio navigates a challenging but ultimately promising transition period. As part of our ongoing evaluations to ensure our resources are aligned with our goals, we have made some changes that have resulted in a reduction of positions and parting ways with some colleagues.
These decisions are always difficult. We are doing all we can to work with the impacted employees to find them new roles on other projects and teams at 2K, and are providing full support to those who cannot be redeployed, connecting them with industry networks and resources to find new opportunities outside of 2K.”
This isn’t the first time Hangar 13 has suffered layoffs since launching Mafia 3. However, the studio has not been utilized to its fullest potential since then — where it has acted as a supplemental studio working on supporting the development of other titles including Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, Kerbal Space Program 2, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
Last year 2K cancelled a big project at Hangar 13 — a project formally known as Volt. The project was described as “Cthulhu meets Saints Row” with an open world featuring supernatural elements.”
The Brighton office is currently working on a Mafia prequel that will be built with Unreal Engine 5. Others at the studio are also working on a game codenamed “Project Hammer,” which is rumoured to be Top Spin, a tennis series.
