In the wake of news that Microsoft would be shutting down Hi-Fi Rush and The Evil Within developer Tango Gameworks (along with a number of other studios), many wondered what its founder, famous Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami, might have to say on the matter.
Mikami did offer his thoughts on the studio closure a few hours later – albeit, very brief thoughts.
“Tango closed,” Mikami wrote on X/Twitter today. “Sad.”
Tango closed. Sad.
— 三上 真司 (@shinji_mikami) May 7, 2024
Mikami founded Tango Gameworks back in 2010, and the studio would go on to release The Evil Within (which Mikami himself directed), The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo and, most recently, the critically acclaimed Hi-Fi Rush, which surprise-dropped last year. More than a decade after launching Tango, however, Bethesda confirmed in a February 2023 X/Twitter post that Mikami would be leaving the studio “in the coming months.” He seemingly started a new studio, KAMUY, around March.
Tango was bought by Zenimax Media the same year it launched, falling under the Microsoft umbrella after Microsoft acquired Zemimax in 2021.
Mikami talked about his departure from Tango in an interview with Byking just last month, explaining that he wanted to leave eight years before he actually did. He explained that he didn’t exit on bad terms and that, rather, he wanted to leave space for younger talent to grow while also giving himself the chance to make smaller, more unique games.
Tango was one of a number of studios to get the axe today in a devastating round of cuts. As revealed via an email to staff obtained by IGN, Microsoft is also shuttering Redfall studio Arkane Austin and Mighty Doom mobile game maker Alpha Dog Games, with Roundhouse Studios to be absorbed by ZeniMax Online Studios.
As a result of the cuts, Microsoft has ended development of Redfall and canceled an upcoming DLC, even though Arkane Austin was actively in the process of working on a big update for the game, IGN has learned.
Thumbnail credit: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.