US publishing giant Take-Two has cancelled a title developed by Hangar 13 that had cost $53 million to make so far.

That's according to Bloomberg, which reports that the studio's chief Haden Blackman (pictured), told staff in an email that the project – codenamed Volt – was being canned by publishing label 2K Games. The game has apparently been in development since 2017 and was apparently set to be a three-player co-op arcadey experience. Kotaku reports that Volt was short for its working title Voltron.

Hangar 13 is potentially facing job losses, with around 200 people potentially affected.

"Hangar 13’s latest project was creatively ambitious and exciting," a 2K Games spokesperson said.

"When we pursue new intellectual properties, we occasionally may encounter situations that call for cancellation. We encourage our teams to pursue their passions and take creative risks, balanced against prudent commercial and financial decisions and our unwavering commitment to delivering the best entertainment experiences. We have full confidence in Hangar 13’s leadership and development team and believe that they can and will deliver critical and commercial successes in the future. Hangar 13’s leadership is working closely with 2K to ensure that Hangar 13 team members continue to do meaningful work, either as part of Hangar 13 or on one of our other development teams."

Hangar 13 was founded back in 2014 and currently boasts four locations; its Novato headquarters, and offices in Brno, Prague and Brighton. To date is best-known for 2016's Mafia III. The studio also developed Mafia: Definitive Edition, which was released in September 2020.

Speaking to PCGamesInsider.biz back in 2019, Blackman said that Hangar 13 wanted to "surprise and disrupt" with its titles.