Krafton, PUBG‘s publishing company, has acquired Hi-Fi Rush‘s studio, Tango Gameworks, after Microsoft decided to shut it down earlier this year.
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In their official press release, Krafton said they’re“allowing the talented team to continue developing the Hi-Fi RUSH
IP and exploring future projects” and that their acquisition of the Japanese game studio will
have “no impact on the existing game catalog…”
Krafton’s decision saved many acclaimed and beloved IPs from going into developer hell, a dreaded place few games come back from. Had the studio been fully closed
down, we would’ve never likely visited The Evil Within‘s Krimson City, or Hi-Fi Rush‘s colorful
Vandelay Island again.
Tango Gameworks has yet to respond to the news.
Hope Rekindled After Microsoft’s Great Studio Purge
Alongside Tango Gameworks, Microsoft shut down Arkane Austin, Roundhouse Games, and Alpha Dog Games in May
of this year.
Employees from these studios were either let go or moved to Microsoft’s other studios, Bethesda and Zenimax
Online.
Despite earlierlayoffs at Xbox, fans were shocked by the decision. Both Tango Gameworks and Arkane, in particular,
were widely celebrated as successful game studios, albeit with a few hiccups.Tango Gameworks’ Ghostwire: Tokyo was an
admirable open-world title, but failed to serve as the cash cow the studio might have hoped for, and Arkane’s
Redfall was, well, a flop.
In an admirable but ultimately fruitless attempt, Hi-Fi Rush‘s fans tried positively review
bombing it and signing petitions, demanding the studio’s, or the game’s, revival.
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time.
In a letter sent to IGN, head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, said the reason behind the closures was,
“prioritising high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games.”
To translate that for you, this essentially means they want to work on bigger games that bring in more
cash but apparently missed the memo on Hi-Fi Rush’s massive return on investment.
Bizarrely, in a meeting held only a day after the announcement, Booty said they needed
“smaller games that give us prestige and awards,” and praised Hi-Fi Rush in the same
meeting. This goes some way to showcase the mess behind the scenes at Xbox Game Studios.
Although Krafton didn’t resurrect Arkane, fans of their Dishonored series, Prey, and Deathloop,
have a mysterious first-person action RPG to look forward to from the studio’s
ex-devs. The untitled game, owing to a few released images, seems to be heavily inspired by their past
projects and is scheduled for a private alpha sometime next year.
In short, it seems like there’s life after Xbox, and it seems like there is a bright future for these ill-treated
studios yet.