Mafia 3 developer Hanger 13's studio head and founder Haden Blackman is stepping down from the company and 2K after seven years.

Blackman will be replaced by Nick Baynes, who has 30 years of industry leadership experience and joined Hanger 13 in 2018 to start Hanger 13 Brighton. He was responsible for launching Mafia: Definitive Edition and the Mafia Trilogy.

Blackman spent his early game development years at LucasArts and was a producer on Star Wars: Galaxies, the project lead on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and more. He also wrote several Star Wars comics, including Jango Fett: Open Seasons, Star Wars: Starfighter, and Darth Vader & The Ghost Prison.

While Blackman's next move was not revealed, 2K did say that he is leaving the company to "pursue his passion at a new endeavor."

2K shared the internal announcement of Blackman's departure with IGN, which shares 2K's gratefulness for "Haden's leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and Czech, and releasing multiple studio-defining Mafia games and collections."

"Hello team, It's with mixed emotions that I share with you several leadership updates from Hangar 13," 2K's internal announcement reads. "Haden Blackman is stepping down as Studio Head of Hangar 13, and is leaving the company to pursue his passion at a new endeavor.

"We are grateful for Haden's leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and Czech, and releasing multiple studio-defining Mafia games and collections. What Haden helped build will continue to carry forward and grow for years to come. We support all of our employees pursuing their passions, and we wish nothing but the best for him in what's next.

"Nick Baynes, Studio Head of Hangar 13 Brighton will take over as Studio Head of Hangar 13. With 30 years of industry leadership experience, Nick joined Hangar 13 in 2018 to establish Hangar 13 Brighton, and has spent the last four years growing the team, building up the studio's capabilities, and launching terrific projects like Mafia: Definitive Edition and the Mafia Trilogy.

"I hope you'll join me in thanking Haden and wishing him the best, and congratulating Nick on a well-deserved promotion. While change can be challenging, it can also breed new opportunities and success.

"We are confident the studio is in great hands heading into the multiple projects currently under way, and the team has 2K’s full support."

Mafia 3 was released in 2016 and, in our review, we said that its "strong characters and confident storytelling kept me engaged, even if the gameplay rarely delivered anything but bog-standard and repetitive open-world action."

Hanger 13 was founded in 2014 by 2K with Blackman at the helm and Mafia 3 has been the only new title the studio has released since then. In 2018, Hanger 13 was hit with "significant" layoffs. The studio would continue on to work with Gearbox Software on Borderlands: The Handsome Collection and the previously mentioned Mafia Trilogy.

In 2021, a Bloomberg report shared that Hanger 13's unannounced game Volt was cancelled after costing the company $53 million. The studio is currently hiring for another unannounced project.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Mafia 3 developer Hanger 13's studio head and founder Haden Blackman is stepping down from the company and 2K after seven years.

Blackman will be replaced by Nick Baynes, who has 30 years of industry leadership experience and joined Hanger 13 in 2018 to start Hanger 13 Brighton. He was responsible for launching Mafia: Definitive Edition and the Mafia Trilogy.

Blackman spent his early game development years at LucasArts and was a producer on Star Wars: Galaxies, the project lead on Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, and more. He also wrote several Star Wars comics, including Jango Fett: Open Seasons, Star Wars: Starfighter, and Darth Vader & The Ghost Prison.

While Blackman's next move was not revealed, 2K did say that he is leaving the company to "pursue his passion at a new endeavor."

2K shared the internal announcement of Blackman's departure with IGN, which shares 2K's gratefulness for "Haden's leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and Czech, and releasing multiple studio-defining Mafia games and collections."

"Hello team, It's with mixed emotions that I share with you several leadership updates from Hangar 13," 2K's internal announcement reads. "Haden Blackman is stepping down as Studio Head of Hangar 13, and is leaving the company to pursue his passion at a new endeavor.

"We are grateful for Haden's leadership in establishing Hangar 13, building and uniting teams in Novato, Brighton and Czech, and releasing multiple studio-defining Mafia games and collections. What Haden helped build will continue to carry forward and grow for years to come. We support all of our employees pursuing their passions, and we wish nothing but the best for him in what's next.

"Nick Baynes, Studio Head of Hangar 13 Brighton will take over as Studio Head of Hangar 13. With 30 years of industry leadership experience, Nick joined Hangar 13 in 2018 to establish Hangar 13 Brighton, and has spent the last four years growing the team, building up the studio's capabilities, and launching terrific projects like Mafia: Definitive Edition and the Mafia Trilogy.

"I hope you'll join me in thanking Haden and wishing him the best, and congratulating Nick on a well-deserved promotion. While change can be challenging, it can also breed new opportunities and success.

"We are confident the studio is in great hands heading into the multiple projects currently under way, and the team has 2K’s full support."

Mafia 3 was released in 2016 and, in our review, we said that its "strong characters and confident storytelling kept me engaged, even if the gameplay rarely delivered anything but bog-standard and repetitive open-world action."

Hanger 13 was founded in 2014 by 2K with Blackman at the helm and Mafia 3 has been the only new title the studio has released since then. In 2018, Hanger 13 was hit with "significant" layoffs. The studio would continue on to work with Gearbox Software on Borderlands: The Handsome Collection and the previously mentioned Mafia Trilogy.

In 2021, a Bloomberg report shared that Hanger 13's unannounced game Volt was cancelled after costing the company $53 million. The studio is currently hiring for another unannounced project.

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

There’s one plane in Top Gun: Maverick that’s been causing a bit of a stir.

A fictional jet set to appear in Top Gun: Maverick called the hypersonic Darkstar may not be real, but it looks as though the Chinese government has taken an interest in it, nonetheless.

In an interview with Sandboxx, producer Jerry Bruckheimer explained what happened: “The Navy told us that a Chinese satellite turned and headed on a different route to photograph that plane,” he revealed. “They thought it was real. That's how real it looks.”

Although the upcoming Top Gun sequel features a whole load of real-life aircraft, the Darkstar is entirely fictional. But that doesn’t mean it’s unrealistic.

Aircraft buffs will note that the film’s Darkstar plane looks a lot like the real-life Lockheed Martin prototype, the hypersonic SR-72 – a follow-up to the SR-71 Blackbird. And that’s no coincidence.

“[Director] Joe [Kosinski] worked with Skunk Works and Lockheed to design the plane that's in there,” revealed Bruckheimer. “So, they had a lot of fun doing Darkstar.”

That’s right — Lockheed Martin actually helped design the new Top Gun prototype. It’s no wonder the Chinese government thought it might be the real deal.

“The reason we approached Skunk Works is because I wanted to make the most realistic hypersonic aircraft we possibly could,” said Kosinski. “In fact, as you saw, we built it full-scale in cooperation with them. But the reason it looks so real is because it was the engineers from Skunk Works who helped us design it. So, those are the same people who are working on real aircraft who helped us design Darkstar for this film.”

In fact, the team at Skunk Works was the very same team that designed the SR-71.

According to Kosinski, this was essential. After all, the fictional Darkstar would have to sit alongside the very real F-18s on the Top Gun runway.

“It had to look just as real as the F-18s, the P-51 and everything else in the movie in order for you to buy it,” he said, “That's why we worked closely with them.”

The Top Gun director previously revealed that he shot over 800 hours of footage for Top Gun: Maverick. However, Tom Cruise was stopped from flying an actual jet during the film’s production.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

There’s one plane in Top Gun: Maverick that’s been causing a bit of a stir.

A fictional jet set to appear in Top Gun: Maverick called the hypersonic Darkstar may not be real, but it looks as though the Chinese government has taken an interest in it, nonetheless.

In an interview with Sandboxx, producer Jerry Bruckheimer explained what happened: “The Navy told us that a Chinese satellite turned and headed on a different route to photograph that plane,” he revealed. “They thought it was real. That's how real it looks.”

Although the upcoming Top Gun sequel features a whole load of real-life aircraft, the Darkstar is entirely fictional. But that doesn’t mean it’s unrealistic.

Aircraft buffs will note that the film’s Darkstar plane looks a lot like the real-life Lockheed Martin prototype, the hypersonic SR-72 – a follow-up to the SR-71 Blackbird. And that’s no coincidence.

“[Director] Joe [Kosinski] worked with Skunk Works and Lockheed to design the plane that's in there,” revealed Bruckheimer. “So, they had a lot of fun doing Darkstar.”

That’s right — Lockheed Martin actually helped design the new Top Gun prototype. It’s no wonder the Chinese government thought it might be the real deal.

“The reason we approached Skunk Works is because I wanted to make the most realistic hypersonic aircraft we possibly could,” said Kosinski. “In fact, as you saw, we built it full-scale in cooperation with them. But the reason it looks so real is because it was the engineers from Skunk Works who helped us design it. So, those are the same people who are working on real aircraft who helped us design Darkstar for this film.”

In fact, the team at Skunk Works was the very same team that designed the SR-71.

According to Kosinski, this was essential. After all, the fictional Darkstar would have to sit alongside the very real F-18s on the Top Gun runway.

“It had to look just as real as the F-18s, the P-51 and everything else in the movie in order for you to buy it,” he said, “That's why we worked closely with them.”

The Top Gun director previously revealed that he shot over 800 hours of footage for Top Gun: Maverick. However, Tom Cruise was stopped from flying an actual jet during the film’s production.

Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.

The Saved by the Bell reboot had no right to be good, but when it first appeared in 2020, we lauded it as one of the "funniest shows of the year." Ultimately, though, it was only able to make it two seasons, as Peacock announced the show's cancellation

"We are so proud to have been the home of the next iteration of 'Saved by the Bell' for both new and OG fans," Peacock said in a statement, as reported by Deadline.

"'Saved by the Bell’ has been a cultural mainstay for more than 30 years and the new series, led by Tracey Wigfield’s superfan enthusiasm and signature witty humor, seamlessly continued the show’s legacy, all while allowing more audiences to feel seen. We’re grateful to Tracey, Franco Bario, our partners at UTV, the beloved cast, and the fans who have continued to champion one of the most iconic shows of all time."

Developed by Wigfield, a 30 Rock veteran, it had all the manic energy of the Tina Fey vehicle, and it only got crazier in its second season. It played with the premise of the original show, casting Zack Morris as the governor of California among other odd turns. It also included a touching tribute to Dustin Diamond, the actor who portrayed Screech, who died last year.

Saved by the Bell originally premiered in 1989 and ran until 1993, going on to become one of the iconic sitcoms of the 90s. Follow-ups included the considerably less popular Saved by the Bell: The College Years as well as Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran until 2000.

For more 90s nostalgia, check out our review of Bel-Air, which recently wrapped its first season.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

The Saved by the Bell reboot had no right to be good, but when it first appeared in 2020, we lauded it as one of the "funniest shows of the year." Ultimately, though, it was only able to make it two seasons, as Peacock announced the show's cancellation

"We are so proud to have been the home of the next iteration of 'Saved by the Bell' for both new and OG fans," Peacock said in a statement, as reported by Deadline.

"'Saved by the Bell’ has been a cultural mainstay for more than 30 years and the new series, led by Tracey Wigfield’s superfan enthusiasm and signature witty humor, seamlessly continued the show’s legacy, all while allowing more audiences to feel seen. We’re grateful to Tracey, Franco Bario, our partners at UTV, the beloved cast, and the fans who have continued to champion one of the most iconic shows of all time."

Developed by Wigfield, a 30 Rock veteran, it had all the manic energy of the Tina Fey vehicle, and it only got crazier in its second season. It played with the premise of the original show, casting Zack Morris as the governor of California among other odd turns. It also included a touching tribute to Dustin Diamond, the actor who portrayed Screech, who died last year.

Saved by the Bell originally premiered in 1989 and ran until 1993, going on to become one of the iconic sitcoms of the 90s. Follow-ups included the considerably less popular Saved by the Bell: The College Years as well as Saved by the Bell: The New Class, which ran until 2000.

For more 90s nostalgia, check out our review of Bel-Air, which recently wrapped its first season.

Kat Bailey is a Senior News Editor at IGN as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

Call of Duty: Vanguard and Activision Blizzard just can’t catch a break. Despite being the best-selling game in 2021, Activision is still unhappy with how the game has performed. Who have they identified as the culprit? World War II.

The company recognizes that the franchise is still one of the most successful entertainment franchises, at least, but their 2021 premium didn’t meet their expectations. In their annual report to investors, Activision Blizzard wrote, “The game’s World War II setting didn’t resonate with some of our community.”

Back in November, we reported that GameIndustry.biz, in collaboration with PAX and EGX, concluded people weren’t playing Vanguard because they were too busy playing other games. In fact, World War II even got a mention with 24% of those polled saying they also weren’t interested in games set during that time.

The company also says there was a lack of "innovation" in the 2021 mainline Call of Duty game, though what exactly that means is unclear.

Furthermore, Activision Blizzard's 2021 was marred by high-profile sexual discrimination and it's been reported that Activision Blizzard is facing even more complaints. This time on rushing the sale of the company to Microsoft to help dodge fallout from the sexual misconduct reports.

Perhaps the recently announced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will fare better than Vanguard.

In our review of the single-player campaign, we called Call of Duty: Vanguard “highly polished” but “brief” with a “lack of variety.”

Casey David is a Freelance Writer for IGN.

Call of Duty: Vanguard and Activision Blizzard just can’t catch a break. Despite being the best-selling game in 2021, Activision is still unhappy with how the game has performed. Who have they identified as the culprit? World War II.

The company recognizes that the franchise is still one of the most successful entertainment franchises, at least, but their 2021 premium didn’t meet their expectations. In their annual report to investors, Activision Blizzard wrote, “The game’s World War II setting didn’t resonate with some of our community.”

Back in November, we reported that GameIndustry.biz, in collaboration with PAX and EGX, concluded people weren’t playing Vanguard because they were too busy playing other games. In fact, World War II even got a mention with 24% of those polled saying they also weren’t interested in games set during that time.

The company also says there was a lack of "innovation" in the 2021 mainline Call of Duty game, though what exactly that means is unclear.

Furthermore, Activision Blizzard's 2021 was marred by high-profile sexual discrimination and it's been reported that Activision Blizzard is facing even more complaints. This time on rushing the sale of the company to Microsoft to help dodge fallout from the sexual misconduct reports.

Perhaps the recently announced Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will fare better than Vanguard.

In our review of the single-player campaign, we called Call of Duty: Vanguard “highly polished” but “brief” with a “lack of variety.”

Casey David is a Freelance Writer for IGN.

An Apple retail store located in the Towson Town Center Mall in Maryland announced today that it has filed for a union election.

In a press release, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) organizer Dave DiMaria announced that the employees at the Maryland-based store had organized a union called Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (AppleCORE for short), and the trade union will represent it.

In a recent report by The Washington Post, several members of AppleCORE explained the decision to unionize was to allow them to have a voice on matters such as scheduling, pay, and coronavirus safety. "To be clear, the decision to form a union is about us as workers gaining access to rights that we do not currently have," members of AppleCORE wrote in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Towson Town Center is the third Apple Retail store based in the US to file for a union election. In mid-April, workers at the Grand Central Terminal location in New York began collecting signatures to form a union. While employees at the Cumberland Mall location in Atlanta, Georgia, filed a petition to unionize later that month, with its union election set for June 2.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

An Apple retail store located in the Towson Town Center Mall in Maryland announced today that it has filed for a union election.

In a press release, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) organizer Dave DiMaria announced that the employees at the Maryland-based store had organized a union called Coalition of Organized Retail Employees (AppleCORE for short), and the trade union will represent it.

In a recent report by The Washington Post, several members of AppleCORE explained the decision to unionize was to allow them to have a voice on matters such as scheduling, pay, and coronavirus safety. "To be clear, the decision to form a union is about us as workers gaining access to rights that we do not currently have," members of AppleCORE wrote in a letter to Apple CEO Tim Cook.

Towson Town Center is the third Apple Retail store based in the US to file for a union election. In mid-April, workers at the Grand Central Terminal location in New York began collecting signatures to form a union. While employees at the Cumberland Mall location in Atlanta, Georgia, filed a petition to unionize later that month, with its union election set for June 2.

Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.