Krafton,PUBG’s publishing company, has acquiredHi-Fi Rush’s studio, Tango Gameworks,afterMicrosoftdecided to shut it down earlier this year.
A Salute to Hi-Fi Rush, Since Microsoft Won’t Give It One
A tribute to Tango’s most creative title.
In theirofficial press release, Krafton said they’re"allowing the talented team to continue developing theHi-Fi RUSHIP and exploring future projects" and that theiracquisition 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 intodeveloper hell, a dreaded place few games come back from. Had the studio been fully closed down, we would’ve never likely visitedThe Evil Within’s Krimson City, orHi-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: Tokyowas an admirable open-world title, but failed to serve as the cash cow the studio might have hoped for, and Arkane’sRedfallwas, well, a flop.
In an admirable but ultimately fruitless attempt,Hi-Fi Rush’s fans triedpositively review bombing itand signing petitions, demanding the studio’s, or the game’s, revival.
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The partnership between Smith and Colantonio created my favourite game of all time.
In a letter sent toIGN, head ofXboxGame 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 cashbut apparently missed the memo onHi-Fi Rush’smassive return on investment.
Bizarrely, in a meeting heldonly a day after the announcement, Booty said they needed “smaller games that give us prestige and awards,” and praisedHi-Fi Rushin 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 theirDishonoredseries,Prey, andDeathloop, have a mysteriousfirst-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.
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