Summary
Xbox’s Matt Booty divulges some of the thinking that went into the heartbreaking decision to shut down Tango Gameworks alongside three other Bethesda studios in May. AsXbox’s sole first-party Japanese studio, Tango was best known for itsEvil Withinsurvival horror franchise Tango’s first-person action horrorGhostwire: Tokyoreleased as a timed PS5 exclusive before coming to Xbox a year later. Most recently, Tango surprise droppedHi-Fi Rushin early 2023 to high praise.
Just last month,Xbox announced its closure of four Bethesda studios, causing a storm of outrage and confusion among the Xbox community.Redfalldeveloper Arkane Austin, mobile developer Alpha Dog Studios, and Roundhouse Studios were all disappointingly shuttered; most puzzling was the closure of Tango Gameworks, which had delivered the near universally praised cartoon-styled rhythm action game,Hi-Fi Rush, only 16 months prior. Xbox’s dissolution of Tango Gameworks sent shockwaves throughout the industry, sending the message that studios could be hit with layoffs and closures even after releasing successful and beloved games.
In an interview with Variety, the head of Xbox Game Studios, Matt Booty, talked about some of the reasoning that went into shuttering its only Japanese game studio, Tango Gameworks. After reinforcing hispraise ofHi-Fi Rush, mentioning that it’s still considered a success in Xbox’s book, Booty expressed that the decision was made with the studio’s future in mind more so than its past successes. He mentioned looking at the state of the studio’s leadership as a determining factor in whether Xbox keeps a studio alive, stating “…it’s as much a forward-looking situation as much as it is looking back at one certain game…And while there may have been factors and situations that previously led to success, they may not all still be in place as you look at what you’re doing going forward.”
Matt Booty Shares Reasoning Behind Tango Gameworks Closure
Here, Matt Booty makes it clear that Xbox unfortunately didn’t have enough faith in Tango’s current leadership to keep the studio open. It’s very likely that Booty is softly referencing the departure of Tango’s founding member, Shinji Mikami, wholeft the studio one month afterHi-Fi Rushwas released,in February 2023. Before establishing Tango Gameworks in 2010, Mikami was previously responsible for projects like the originalResident Evil,Resident Evil 4, andDino Crisis; such a background is abundantly evident in Tango’sEvil Withinduology. Despite Tango’s horror mastermind leaving, it’s hard to believe that the studio wouldn’t have found more critical success with aHi-Fi Rushsequel, considering the game’s director, John Johanes, remained at the studio until its unfortunate end last month.
…it’s as much a forward-looking situation as much as it is looking back at one certain game…And while there may have been factors and situations that previously led to success, they may not all still be in place as you look at what you’re doing going forward
Despite now having just a tad more insight about the reasoning behind such a puzzling decision, Tango’s closure still sends a scary message to Xbox’s other stable of studios, as well as studio leadership who may be considering departing from their studios or retiring. Many of Xbox’s studios do have incredibly enticing projects lined up for the next few years, such as Compulsion Games’South of MidnightandThe Initiative’sPerfect Dark, which have just received new gameplay footage at Xbox’s recent games showcase.
Hi-Fi Rush
WHERE TO PLAY
Feel the beat as wannabe rockstar Chai and his ragtag team of allies rebel against an evil robotics enhancement megacorp with raucous rhythm combat! From Tango Gameworks, the studio that brought you The Evil Within® and Ghostwire®: Tokyo (no, really) comes Hi-Fi RUSH, an all-new action game where the characters, world and combat stylishly sync to the music!CHAI VERSUS THE WORLD: Labeled ‘defective’ after a shady corporate experiment mistakenly fuses a music player to his heart, Chai must now fight for his freedom in a slick animated world where everything – platforming puzzles, enemy attacks and even the colorful gags & banter - are synced to the beat.OPEN UP THE MOSH PIT!: Take on armies of corporate drones (read: actual robots) in satisfying, rhythm-amplified combat. Time your moves to pull off flashy Beat Hits, hard-hitting special abilities and even combination attacks with your allies! Want to show off? Go further and tap into the beat to amp up your skills and earn those covetous S-rank scores.ROWDY REBELS VS. BADASS BOSSES: Lead a squad of colorful teammates and take the fight to the heart of an, er, heartless corporation. Square off with each department’s boss, from Production to Marketing to Finance, each more ready to protect the company’s bottom line than the last in over-the-top battle sequences accompanied by their own music tracks!GRAB YOUR HEADPHONES: Tap your toes to a killer mixtape of original music, as well as songs by Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Joy Formidable and more! Want to show off your skills to a live streaming audience? Fret not: Hi-Fi RUSH includes a streamer-friendly alternate audio mode which replaces those licensed songs with original tracks made especially for streaming Hi-Fi RUSH.
