Like PlayStation and other companies in recent months, Microsoft laid off thousands of employees from Xbox, Activision Blizzard and Bethesda at the beginning of 2024. When it was thought that the situation could not get worse, at the beginning of this week the closure of Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin. According to a report, both studios wanted to do new projects.
Tango Gameworks, a company founded by the legendary Shinji Mikami, launched the acclaimed Hi-Fi RUSHan action game that perfectly combines combat type hack and slash with rhythm mechanics. Thanks to its charismatic characters and rewarding gameplay, it received rave reviews.
It is unknown how many copies it sold. Hi-Fi RUSHsince it debuted on day 1 in the service Xbox Game Pass. Journalist Jeff Grubb reported that the launch did not exceed Microsoft’s expectations, while Aaron Greenbergvice president of marketing at Xbox, denied such claims and noted that the game was a success.
Either way, fans hoped that the positive reception would allow this new intellectual property to continue with a sequel. Although the developers apparently wanted to make a new installment, it seems that those plans disappeared with the sudden closure of the studio.
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Tango Gameworks was preparing to make a sequel to Hi-FI RUSH
Jason Schreier, one of the most reliable sources in the video game industry, published a new report citing alleged people familiar with Xbox’s plans. The article sheds additional light on the closure of Tango Gameworks and Arken Austin.
According to the information, Matt Booty He said the company’s studies were “overstretched” and that leaders across the division felt understaffed. Consequently, the decision was made to close these studies to free up resources.
According to Jason Schreier’s report, Tango Gameworks was in the process of making a sequel of Hi-Fi RUSH. Most of the production details are a mystery, but it is said that the company intended to hire new staff to work on the new project.
On the other hand, it is reported that Arkane Austin, who last year gave something to talk about for the launch of the criticized redfall, wanted to return to its roots with a new immersive single-player FPS. It is speculated that this project could have been a new installment of Dishonored either Prey.
However, the report states that both games were still in the presentation phase, so their active development had not yet begun; in fact, they did not even have the green light to continue production. Thus, ZeniMax preferred to close the studios rather than affect other divisions with projects underway.
“The suggestion was that, instead of canceling games that were already in production, ZeniMax chose to close the 2 studios with projects that did not yet have the green light and that faced long and expensive paths, among other factors,” said the journalist in a follow up post.
But tell us, what do you think of this situation? Let us read you in the comments.
Follow this link to read more news related to Tango Gameworks, while on this page you will find more information about Arkane Austin.
Related video: The good, the bad and the meh of Hi-Fi RUSH
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