Mafia developer continues to see layoffs

Things continue to be messy around Mafia III developer Hangar 13. In early May, studio head Haden Blackman announced that he would be leaving and Nick Baynes took over to lead the development of the next Mafia title. However, the journey has started anything but well, as the developer was recently forced to lay off 50 people from the studio's California office (one of three Hangar 13 branches), going from 87 employees to a mere 37. Here's what Baynes himself said when he announced the news from his headquarters in Brighton, England:

"I know it's hard. I'm sorry I'm not over there to deliver this message. I'll be coming over soon. I know you need some local leadership and structure and we're working on it."

Parent company and publisher 2K then provided the following statement to Kotaku:

"2K is fully committed to Hangar 13's future 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 in the number of positions and parting ways with some colleagues."

Hangar 13 is currently working on a new Mafia game that is rumoured to be a prequel to the previous trilogy.