Other than that the team has a new project in development, nothing is known about what Mafia III studio Hangar 13 is working on. What we do know, however, is that the developer’s next game won’t be another Mafia entry. Yet, according to game director Haden Blackman, the subject matter will take on the “mature” nature of their last title.
At Brighton’s Develop Conference, Blackman and executive producer Andrew Wilson reveal Mafia III’s original prologue was cut due to its being controversial and exploitative. Following talk of this revelation, Blackman expresses pride in having worked on the game, especially considering the subject matter. Now the team’s ready to explore new avenues, particularly with regards to tone. Something a bit more “uplifting” is to come from Hangar 13 next. “I am incredibly proud of Mafia III on every level,” Blackman says. “The fact we tackled this really tough subject matter was fantastic. But at the end of the day it’s a dark game–it’s a violent exploration of damaged people. We want to continue to be able to do character studies and dive into what makes people tick, and universal human truths, but a lot of us on the team also want to do something a little more inspirational and more uplifting, so the tone of this new thing we’re working on is a little bit different than Mafia 3, but it has a lot of the same underpinnings in terms of strong characte...