On May 7, an internal email was leaked in which Xbox confirmed its decision to shut down four studios under the Bethesda publishing umbrella. Tango Gameworks, the studio behind Hi-Fi Rush, was among those affected. Soon after, the game’s player count spiked on Steam with fans paying their respects.
Many developers and players are still shocked by Xbox’s decision regarding the studio. Phil Spencer previously said the studio was performing OK and talked up Microsoft’s acquisition of Tango via their purchase of Bethesda, so players are (understandably) feeling like the massive company hasn’t been exactly truthful with them.
Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil, initially founded Tango Gameworks as its CEO. The studio launched titles like The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the last project, Hi-Fi Rush. This last title was completely different from other IPs: a rhythm game with bright colors and silly characters, and no horror in sight. Hi-Fi Rush received high praise, and when Xbox shut down the studio, players and fans went right back to it game, setting a new record for title’s concurrent players on Steam.
On the Valve platform, the game won’t get more than 200 players in an average day, but on May 7, after the closing confirmation, the concurrent player number peaked at more than 700 users on Steam, with more likely players from yesterday on console. It’s a small way that fans are paying respect to the devs behind the game.
Hi-Fi Rush quickly became one of the most popular from the studio upon its release. Although Shinji Mikami was only an executive producer on the title, the company’s talent clearly has a lot of potential to make different kinds of IPs. Microsoft hasn’t specified what will happen to the employees of Tango Gameworks, but its latest game will still be available and ready to purchase for the time being.
The other affected studios were Arkane Austin, developers of Redfall, Alpha Dog Studios, creators of Mighty Doom, and Roundhouse Games, which will be absorbed by Zenimax Online to keep working on The Elder Scrolls Online.
