Haden Blackman has stepped down from his role as the head of Hangar 13, known for developing Mafia 3. He will leave the 2K-owned team after working there for seven years.
Mafia 3
2K Games shared the news via an internal communication, as reported by GamesBeat. Blackman is “leaving the company to pursue his passion at a new endeavor.”
Nick Baynes, who currently leads Hangar 13’s office in Brighton, will replace Blackman in his role as the studio head. Over the last four years, he contributed to launching projects like Mafia Trilogy and Mafia: Definitive Edition.
“We are confident the studio is in great hands heading into the multiple projects currently under way, and the team has 2K’s full support,” the company said in a statement.
Blackman, who previously worked at Lucas Arts and oversaw development of two titles in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed series, didn’t disclose the reasons behind his departure. In 2014, he founded Hangar 13 within 2K Games, where he led the Mafia 3 development from the early concept stages to its launch.
In November 2021, Bloomberg reported that Take-Two canceled Hangar 13’s unannounced game, codenamed Volt, due to the “amount of time needed in development before it became a finished product.” This cancelation cost the company $53 million.