It was big news when Microsoft decided to shut down Tango Gameworks in June this year. Despite that, the studio will live on. A South Korean publisher called Krafton has bought the developer and will rehire about fifty of the studio’s former employees. Shinji Mikami who founded it said on the decision to close Tango Gameworks:
“I had thought the studio would be safe as long as they continued to make Hi-Fi Rush games. That’s one of the reasons I left Tango Gameworks. So I was surprised when the studio was closed down.”
Shinji Mikami chose to leave the studio for personal reasons. He wanted to get away from the horror genre he is associated with and offer new developers opportunities to gain more experience. It remains to be seen what Tango Gamesworks will deliver for Krafton and when we will see their next game. Krafton should have succeeded in getting the rights to Hi-Fi Rush along with the acquisition of the studio. Unfortunately, they didn’t get the rights to The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo. They are still owned by Microsoft.