Tango Gameworks are back from the dead. The Hi-Fi Rush studio have been acquired - alongside the IP for future games in the rhythm action series - by South Korean company Krafton, who also own PUBG Studios and Striking Distance, among others. “This strategic move will include the rights to Tango Gameworks’ acclaimed IP, Hi-Fi Rush,” Krafton said in a statement today.
I particularly enjoy the hand-rubbing, grinning use of the word ‘strategic’ here. Great news though. Former parent company Microsoft announced that they were shutting down Tango Gameworks back in May, alongside Redfall studio Arkane Austin and Mighty Doom makers Alpha Dog Games.
In an email to staff, Xbox boss Matt Booty called the move a “consolidation of our Bethesda studio teams, so that we can invest more deeply in our portfolio of games and new IP." The next day, Booty said that Xbox needed “smaller games that give us prestige and awards" at a town hall meeting. Anyway.
Hi-Fi Rush (a small game that won multiple awards including a BAFTA) went down a treat with both fans and critics, including Hirun Cryer for RPS , who called it a “a fantastic cocktail of rhythm-based head banging and action-packed platforming.” Following Booty’s statement, Tango project manager Kazuaki Egashira posted a shelf filled with accolades , accompanied by the immortal words “not enough?”. Basically, Hi-Fi Rush was adored, and Microsoft’s choice to shutter Tango felt like one of the uglier decisions in a yea.