‘Hi-Fi Rush’ Dev Tango Gameworks Re-Opens After Microsoft Shutdown, Will Focus On Making Action Games “With Soul”
After being shuttered by Microsoft and subsequently rescued by PUBG publisher Krafton Inc., Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks has not only announced their official return to game development, but also announced a new studio-wide mission of “making games with soul.”
Founded in 2010 by Resident Evil 4 and God Hand director Shinji Mikami, Tango Gameworks would shortly thereafter be acquired by Bethesda Gameworks parent company ZeniMax Media, under whose ownership they produced a total of three games: The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, and Ghostwire: Tokyo.
But after the launch of Ghostwire: Tokyo, things would start to go downhill fast for Tango Gameworks.
In 2023, Mikami would voluntarily step away from the studio in order to found a new development house, KAMUY (which as of writing has yet to release its first game).
Then, in January 2024, Microsoft’s gaming division would be rocked by major layoffs, the results of which unfortunately led to Tango Gameworks closing up shop on June 14th, 2024.
However, the studio would receive a second-chance when, just fifty-nine days later, they were fully acquired by the aforementioned Krasfton.
On June 6th, Tango Gameworks returned to the world with a trio of news posts to their official website, each one dedicated to a different element of their new operation, with one highlighting the re-opening of their Tokyo office, another detailing their new branding, and the final confirming that the studio was now open to accepting applications from prospective devs.
“The new logo and brand design are meant to encapsulate the studio’s vision as a ‘creative workshop’: a place where creators have ownership of their work, and their individual contributions come together into games that feel ‘handmade with soul,'” Tango Gameworks explained in an accompanying press release. “In this new era, Tango Gameworks will continue to fuse Japanese and international design sensibilities into unique games with quality and innovation at the forefront.”
On the website itself, as emblazoned with their new company slogan “A creative workshop making games with soul”, Tango Gameworks further explained that, when it came to their mission, “Our team has a penchant for action games, and our first focus will be spreading our wings in that direction.”
“But we won’t stop there,” they added. “Just like our previous projects experimented through creating new IP, the future of Tango Gameworks is in our hands to create new and innovative experiences, unencumbered by genre labels.”
But perhaps the most notable aspect of Tango Gameworks’ return was, as noted above, the news that the studio “has a number of positions open for early work on an unannounced action game!”
“The positions span almost every department, so if you are interested in working with the team behind such hit releases as Hi-Fi RUSH, read up on our studio philosophy, get to know some of our team in the Creators section, and then learn more about our studio and hiring on our recruitment page,” the developer beckoned. “We’re always on the lookout for talented creators to bring our next handcrafted game to life!”
At current, neither Tango Gameworks themselves or any of their current job listings have provided any hint as to what the studio could be cooking.
In regards to speculation, though the easy guess is that the mystery title will end up being a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush, there also exists the distinct possibility that it will be a completely brand new IP.
While the former would certainly be lucrative, the latter would allow them to address any gremlins in their work flow before continuing on with Chai and crew’s rhythm-based adventures.
Ultimately, just what Tango Gameworks has in store the future remains to be seen in the coming years.
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