Hangar 13 sure did catch us off guard a few weeks ago when it came to light that Mafia 4 was reportedly in development. Codenamed Nero, Mafia 4 is rumoured to be a prequel made in Unreal Engine 5, as opposed to the studio’s bespoke engine which was used in previous franchise instalments.
As a prequel, fans quickly assumed that Mafia 4 would focus on the Salieri crime family featured in the first game of the franchise. Insiders later revealed that this is likely to be the case, with the game set in Italy charting Don Salieri’s rise to power. It’s been six years since we last experienced a brand-new Mafia game and while the news of Mafia 4 is hugely exciting, it looks like Mafia 5 is also on the way. Now we’re just being spoiled.
Unreal Engine 5 is capable of incredible things. Take a look at this fan-made GTA: San Andreas remake trailer which puts Rockstar to shame.
According to a report by Bloomberg, Hangar 13 president Nick Baynes is working to get Mafia 5 approved so that as soon as production wraps up on Mafia 4, the teams can transition directly onto the sequel. This may sound like the studio is desperate to get games in the hands of fans again, but it's actually due to simple. logisitics.
Hangar 13 recently experienced a wave of employee lay-offs. The studio was originally working on a sci-fi game known as Volt and despite the fact that it was set to be a major new IP for the studio, the project proved to be too expensive and was cast aside. Baynes is hoping that Mafia 4 will revive the studio financially, hence the enthusiasm to start development on Mafia 5 as soon as possible.
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It’s worth noting that none of this - including the existence of Mafia 4 - has officially been confirmed directly by Hangar 13 or 2K Games, so this has to be taken with a pinch of salt - but the rumours are incredibly prevalent. With a number of major gaming showcases just around the corner, we could hear some official news soon.
Topics: 2K Games