Back in 2018, Mafia developer Hangar 13 founded a new studio in Brighton, UK. The studio was primarily tasked with developing an open-world game based on a “key new IP franchise“. At the time, little else was known about the game, but current job listings for the studio, as spotted by Twitter user @MauroNL3, have dropped out a few more details.
Multiple job listings describe the game as a “cutting-edge AAA title”. Hangar 13’s VP of Development, Andy Wilson, had previously said the game would be “incredibly unique”, something that ” is going to appeal to a hell of a lot of people”, and will “not necessarily be in the same genre [as Mafia III]”. A current job listing for a Senior Writer seems to hint towards a fantasy or sci-fi setting instead:
You love stories. You love consuming them, you love creating them, and you love dissecting them. An appreciation for multiple genres (not just fantasy and sci-fi) is preferred.
The hint is backed up by a leaked contract from the UK studio, which was initially posted on Reddit but later removed for legal reasons. This suggested the third-person title is sci-fi themed with supernatural elements, and is set in a vast open world.
The title will also have an online component with a suite of online features. The listing for a Lead Online Designer states:
Ultimately, you will […] be responsible for leading the overall design effort for our online features; to include defining matchmaking requirements and algorithms, holding the vision for major online features such as guilds or live events, working with the systems team to ensure online play tuning and balance, and collaborating with art and design leads to put together future content roadmaps.
The team will also be designing a new “competitive in-house game engine” for the title, according to a listing for an Associate Systems Engineer. Many of the other listings involve working with the studio’s existing software technology as well as being involved in building new technology to cope with the game’s requirements.
This new title is one of three projects Hangar 13 has in the works right now. Whether one of those is a new Mafia title is highly dependent on whether Mafia: Definitive Edition has been successful. If the game had received a decent reception the team would have been able to invest their energy in a new instalment.
[Source: @MauroNL3 on Twitter]
