A few months ago, a bunch of rumors started surfacing around Hanger 13 claiming that the studio is working on Mafia 4 along with a remastered version of Mafia 2. However, recent developments suggest that now it seems people at the studio have other plans for their next project, as they are hiring for a new IP.

According to the job listing on the Hanger 13 official website, the developer is looking for an executive producer “to lead the development of a key new IP franchise at Hanger 13.” Later on in the description of the job, it’s been mentioned that having experience in building AAA open-world or sandbox games will be an advantage.

After releasing Mafia 3 and its post-launch expansions, Hanger 13 has been tight-lipped about its next project for a while, but according to Take-Two Interactive, official details on the studio’s next game will be dropped in the coming months. If Hanger 13 is to work on a new IP, we should wait and see what would happen to the Mafia franchise.

Despite having a brilliant story, Mafia 3 was blamed mostly for its tedious level design, somehow outdated graphics, and lots of technical issues. That said, the story and the new protagonist have the potential for a sequel with much-improved gameplay and more polished visuals. However, working on a new IP doesn’t necessarily deny the rumors on Mafia 4 and Mafia 2 Remastered from happening.

Hanger 13 is a subsidiary of 2K Games with four branches in Brighton, Prague, Novato, and Brno. Led by former LucasArts creative director Haden Blackman, the studio was originally founded in 2013. In collaboration with 2K Czech, Hanger 13 delivered its first title in 2016, which was Mafia 3. At first, the game was aimed to launch on 7th-gen platforms, but then it’s been shifted to current-gen consoles and PC. If you haven't played it yet, the Deluxe Edition of the game with all expansions is available for $14.99 on PS4 for a limited time.