The developer of the Mafia franchise, Hanger 13, was allegedly working on a new superhero game, but it has since been canceled by Take-Two Interactive. The game was meant to give Hanger 13 a bit of a break from the Mafia series and allow for some variety in its portfolio, but the team now no longer has any games in development following the cancelation of its new IP.
Earlier this year, there was a 2K Games leak that revealed games like Midnight Suns and Tiny Tina's Wonderland weeks and even months prior to their official unveiling. Among the handful of leaked games, Hanger 13's untitled new IP was also mentioned. At the time, it was described as "Cthulhu meets Saints Row" and would've been a different direction for the studio. Given all of the other games that leaked were announced throughout 2021, it seemed like Hanger 13's new project would come next, but now that game will likely never see the light of day.
According to a new report from Bloomberg's Jason Schreier, Hanger 13's new game, code-named Volt, was axed by Take-Two. Hanger 13 had reportedly spent roughly $53 million on the new game, which was "set to feature superheroes competing in online gameplay." After Mafia 3, Hanger 13 posted job listings for a new open-world game, but noted it would be a "key new franchise" and would have plans to expand over time through additional content and likely sequels. Bloomberg noted that the game was rebooted multiple times after beginning development in 2017 and struggled due to COVID-19 challenges and technical hiccups.
Hanger 13 is reportedly expected to have a team meeting about its future on November 4, 2021. It's unclear what the developer will do next, but so long as Take-Two isn't shuttering the studio, it has options. Games like Bioshock 4 could possibly get additional support from Hanger 13 while it begins developing ideas for its next game, but that's nothing more than speculation. It's also entirely possible that Hanger 13 will just go back to the Mafia series. Mafia 3 was the fastest-selling 2K game at the time of its release in 2016, so clearly there's a craving for that series. With Rockstar Games taking its time on Grand Theft Auto 6, Hanger 13 could provide some considerable competition with another Mafia game.
As of right now, Mafia 4 is not in the works and reportedly never has been outside of some very early attempts that never got off the ground. Hanger 13 took over the series from 2K Czech following Mafia 2 after failing to realize Mafia 3 in the early days of its development. Regardless, it will likely be a while before Hanger 13 releases its next game.
Source: Bloomberg