Hangar 13 founder and head of the studio Haden Blackman has made the decision to step down from his role after 7 years at the company. The Californian-based developers were founded by Blackman in 2014 and were the masterminds behind Mafia III and Mafia: Definitive Edition.
Nick Baynes will be the man to replace Blackman, and Baynes has more than enough experience to fill his shoes. Baynes has over 30 years experience of industry leadership and joined Hangar 13 in 2018 where he was tasked with starting Hangar 13 Brighton in the UK. Baynes was also a leading figure in launching Mafia: Definitive Edition back in 2020.
If you don’t know much about Blackman then we’re here to give you some background information. The Hangar 13 founder spent the early part of his career in game development at LucasArts where he was a producer on Star Wars: Galaxies, before then becoming the project lead on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. But Blackman’s talents didn’t just lie in games because he has also created several Star Wars comics in his time such as ‘Jango Fett: Open Seasons’. Not a bad little resume all things considered.
Hangar 13 operates under the 2K Games umbrella, and a spokesperson from 2K announced the news by saying, “Haden’s leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and in the Czech Republic, and also releasing multiple studio-defining Mafia games and collections has been fantastic.” They went on to add, “Haden is leaving the company to pursue his passions and new endeavors. We support all our employees pursuing their passions, and we wish nothing but the best for them in whatever they do next.”
But as they say, every cloud and all that, because in the same statement, 2K Games wanted to welcome Nick Baynes to his new post: “Nick Baynes, Studio Head of Hangar 13 Brighton will take over as Studio Head of Hangar 13. Join us in congratulating Nick on a well-deserved promotion. We are confident the studio is in great hands heading into the multiple projects currently underway.” It has been a smooth and chivalrous changeover – the way it should be.
Change can be challenging – we all know that – but with change, it can breed new life into projects and create an awful lot of success along the way, so here’s hoping this is one of those occasions.
