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''Hi-Fi Rush'' is a 2023
rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular r ...
-based
action game An action game is a video game genre that emphasizes physical challenges, including hand–eye coordination and reaction time. The genre includes a large variety of sub-genres, such as fighting games, beat 'em ups, shooter games, rhythm games and ...
developed by
Tango Gameworks Tango Gameworks Inc. is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. Founded in March 2010 by Shinji Mikami, previously of Capcom, the company was acquired by ZeniMax Media in October that year after suffering financial issues. Tango develo ...
and published by
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...
. The game's story follows self-proclaimed "future rock star" Chai (voiced by
Robbie Daymond Robert Daymond Howard (born March 11, 1982) is an American voice actor who is mostly known for his roles in video games, animation, anime and audiobooks. Some of his best known roles include Tuxedo Mask in the Viz Media redub of ''Sailor Moon'', ...
in English and
Hiro Shimono is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with I'm Enterprise. His notable roles include Ayato Kamina in '' RahXephon'', Akihisa Yoshii in ''Baka and Test'', Haruka Kasugano in ''Yosuga no Sora'', Keima Katsuragi in ''The World God Only K ...
in Japanese), whose music player is accidentally embedded in his chest during experimental cybernetic surgery, allowing him to rhythmically fight and re-perceive the world through environmental
synesthesia Synesthesia (American English) or synaesthesia (British English) is a perceptual phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway. People with sy ...
. Labelled a "defect" and hunted by the corporation that transformed him, Chai bands together with new friends to defeat the company's executives and put a stop to their plans. ''Hi-Fi Rush'''s gameplay sets itself apart from other examples in the character action genre. Chai's relationship with his music player causes himself, surrounding enemies and environmental objects to move in sync with the beat of the game's soundtrack. Combat entails successfully connecting 'beat hits' by chaining attacks together in time with the music, being rewarded with higher damage output and end-level ranking if players successfully manage to do so. In addition to the character action gameplay, the title features numerous rhythm-based minigames that leverage the game's audio cues for on-screen interactions and puzzles. Progression takes place across multiple linear stages that mix platforming segments and arena-like encounters with enemies and minibosses, while being bookended by a themed boss fight with the corporation's various executives. Chai can additionally be equipped with upgrades and additional moves that are unlocked procedurally through in-game collectibles or currency put towards them. The game's soundtrack encompasses licensed music from bands such as
The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...
and
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
. ''Hi-Fi Rush'' was conceptualized with a smaller team at Tango Gameworks just as they were finishing '' The Evil Within 2'' in 2017, out of an internal desire to branch the developer out of the
survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...
genre they were previously synonymous with. The game entered full production the following year. Its style and presentation was principally inspired by the films of director
Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...
. The game's development was kept completely secret by Tango and Bethesda due to concerns over player expectations with the tonal and gameplay differences from its previous releases. The game was simultaneously announced and released for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...
on January 25, 2023. A
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...
version of the game was released in March 2024. ''Hi-Fi Rush'' received critical acclaim upon release, with critics praising its visual style, art direction, humor, characters, and combat, though some noted its repetition, level design, and limited soundtrack. ''Hi-Fi Rush'' was the last game to be developed by Tango Gameworks as a studio under Bethesda and parent company
Microsoft Gaming Microsoft Gaming is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment division of Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington, established in 2022. Its five development and publishing labels consist of: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Soft ...
before its initial closure in May 2024. The studio was revived under the ownership of
Krafton Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...
in August 2024, which also acquired the rights to the ''Hi-Fi Rush'' license from Microsoft with plans to develop further games while also exploring other projects. The publishing rights to the original game as well as Tango's prior titles remain with Microsoft and Bethesda.


Gameplay

''Hi-Fi Rush'' is a rhythm-action game where the protagonist Chai, his enemies, and parts of the environment move to the
beat Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of inte ...
. Attacking on rhythm is not required, as actions automatically sync up with the music, but by timing the button presses right the players are rewarded with higher damage output and timing-based combo finishers deal additional damage. A parry move allows players to cancel enemy attacks by pressing the button at the exact moment of attacks. In addition to the beat-em-up action mechanics, there are also rhythm-based minigame elements where players repeat cues in a call-and-response fashion, or press buttons in rhythmic sequence based on on-screen cues. The game takes place across multiple linear stages, representing various divisions of the antagonist corporation. Each division is based on a particular musical style, and Chai engages in
boss battles Boss may refer to: Occupations * Supervisor, often referred to as boss * Air boss, more formally, air officer, the person in charge of aircraft operations on an aircraft carrier * Crime boss, the head of a criminal organization * Fire boss, ...
at various points. In addition to combat, the game also features some
platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...
elements, as well as a system of upgrades to unlock new moves, abilities, and perks, which can be purchased with gears, an in-game currency earned in combat or by exploring levels. Permanent upgrades to health and the special meter also appear in stages as collectibles. Completing the game once unlocks bonus features, such as the ability to revisit past levels and previously inaccessible areas, a new difficulty setting, and Rhythm Tower, a survival mode similar to Bloody Palace from the ''
Devil May Cry is a science fantasy action-adventure game franchise created by Hideki Kamiya. It is primarily developed and published by Capcom. The series centers on the demon hunter Dante (Devil May Cry), Dante and his efforts to thwart various demon invas ...
'' series.


Plot

Chai, a 25-year old man with a disabled right arm and a dream to become a rockstar, arrives at the Vandelay Technologies campus to volunteer for Project Armstrong, a test program for cybernetic limb replacement. Unbeknownst to Chai, the CEO, Kale Vandelay (
Roger Craig Smith Roger Craig Smith is an American voice actor. He is known for his voice roles in video games such as Chris Redfield in the ''Resident Evil'' series (2009–2017), Ezio Auditore da Firenze in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series (2009–2011), Kyle C ...
/
Takehito Koyasu is a Japanese voice actor from Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.Doi, Hitoshi"Koyasu Takehito" ''Seiyuu Database''. January 3, 2011. Retrieved January 10, 2011. He is affiliated with and representative of T's Factory, a voice acting agency he founded ...
) secretly designates Chai to be a garbage collector for the company's waste management. As Chai's limb replacement process is about to begin, Kale throws away Chai's music player, which accidentally falls into Chai's chest and embeds with it during the process, causing Chai to feel a musical connection with his surroundings. As a result of the accident caused by Kale's carelessness, Chai is labeled a defect and the facility's robotic security forces pursue him. Chai discovers his new arm can deploy an electromagnetic grabber stick, originally meant for garbage collecting, which he uses to fashion a guitar-like weapon. As he searches for a way to escape, he encounters a robotic cat named 808. He is aided by an unseen ally, Peppermint (
Erica Lindbeck Erica Lindbeck (born May 29, 1992) is an American voice actress best known as the third voice of Barbie in the eponymous media franchise, succeeding Kelly Sheridan in 2015 and being succeeded herself by America Young in 2018. She also works w ...
/ Toa Yukinari), who communicates through the robotic cat, and is guided to her hideout. There, she offers to help Chai escape if he agrees to help her investigate a conspiracy—provided to her by a personal source—behind Project Armstrong, leading the two to form a reluctant alliance. Soon, Chai helps Peppermint gain access to a Vandelay executive computer, and learn about SPECTRA, an AI-program that uses the cybernetic implants of Project Armstrong as a back-door for mind control. The two hatch a plan to access and shut down SPECTRA by securing passkeys from each of the company's executives, including Kale. As they pursue their targets, they recruit more allies, including the disgruntled and nervous former head of R&D (and Peppermint's inside source) Macaron (Gabe Kunda / Yasuhiro Mamiya) and his blunt psychology robot partner CNMN (pronounced "Cinnamon") (Sunil Malhotra /
Hiroyuki Yoshino is a Japanese voice actor and singer. On leading roles, he played Yoshimori Sumimura in '' Kekkaishi'', Hibiki Tokai in '' Vandread'', Yuji Kagura in ''Tona-Gura!'', Takumi Nishijō in '' Chaos;Head'', Yusuke "Bossun" Fujisaki in '' Sket Dance ...
), and eventually Vandelay's security head, Korsica ( Sarah Elmaleh /
Yū Kobayashi is a Japanese voice actress and singer affiliated with Holy Peak. Some of her most prominent roles include that of Tadamichi Aoba in '' Dan Doh!!'', Setsuna Sakurazaki in ''Negima! Magister Negi Magi'', Dan Kuso in ''Bakugan Battle Brawlers'' ...
), after Kale makes an attempt on her life for discovering SPECTRA's true nature. While exploring a museum of Vandelay Technologies, Peppermint reveals that her mother is Roxanne Vandelay (Rahnuma Panthaky /
Naoko Kouda , better known by the stage name , is a Japanese voice actress who works for Mausu Promotion. She graduated from Nihon University College of Art. Notable voice roles Anime *''Hidamari no Ki'' (2000) (Manjiro's Mother) *''Lupin III'': Bye-Bye L ...
), the company's founder, which makes Kale her older brother. Some time ago, Roxanne encouraged Peppermint to leave home and find her own path, but she later returned after Kale's sudden ascent to CEO out of suspicion that something was wrong. As the group pursues Kale, their final target, they encounter Roxanne, but learn she is being controlled by Kale via SPECTRA. Kale traps the group and explains that he plans to use Project Armstrong to control the users' purchasing habits and relieve the stress of consumerism. Chai frees himself and his allies from the trap as they confront and battle Kale. With Kale defeated, they use all five passkeys and Korsica's password to shut down SPECTRA, freeing Roxanne from its control. Afterwards, Roxanne is reinstated as CEO of Vandelay Technologies, Peppermint reconciles with her mother, and Chai is offered a job as the ambassador for Project Armstrong within the company, while Macaron and Korsica regain their old jobs. Later, Chai and his friends gather to look at the sunset while he practices playing guitar, so that he has a fallback career in case his new job doesn't work out. Events after the main story reveal mysterious doors around the campus. After Chai investigates them, Peppermint discovers a secret hub room underneath Vandelay Tower, which houses a second SPECTRA unit. Once Chai passes the challenges in the room, he finds the unit, but discovers that SPECTRA was set to restart by itself, using the group's efforts as a launchpad for the endeavor. The AI, appearing as a replica of Kale, reveals that the activation was a backup plan in case Kale's plans were thwarted. However, SPECTRA is abruptly turned off after a cleaning robot accidentally pulls the power plug. Chai declares the problem solved and leaves a warning note not to touch the plug.


Development

In a March 2022 interview with ''
Famitsu , formerly , is a line of Japanese Video game journalism, video game magazines published by Kadokawa Game Linkage (previously known as Gzbrain), a subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation, Kadokawa. ''Famitsu'' is published in both weekly and monthly f ...
'', founder of Tango Gameworks and executive producer
Shinji Mikami is a Japanese video game designer, director, and video game producer, producer. Starting his career at Capcom in 1990, he has worked on many of the company's most successful games. He directed the Resident Evil (1996 video game), first installme ...
mentioned that he wants the company to venture outside of the
survival horror Survival horror is a Video game genre, subgenre of horror games. Although combat can be part of the gameplay, the player is made to feel less in control than in typical action games through limited ammunition or weapons, health, speed, and visio ...
genre and nurture younger game creators. He also offered the first hints about their next release, stating that the next game by '' The Evil Within 2'' director John Johanas is "the complete opposite of horror." Johanas later described ''Hi-Fi Rush'' as a "dream game" idea he had in his mind since "way, way back." He initially pitched the title to Mikami after completing work on ''The Evil Within 2'' in 2017. After that a small team created an internal demo to help pitch the game to higher ups at Bethesda. The game was inspired by ''
Shaun of the Dead ''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden London salesman who is caught alongside his loved ones in a zombie apocalypse. It also star ...
'' (2004) and other films by
Edgar Wright Edgar Howard Wright (born 18 April 1974) is an English filmmaker. He is known for his fast-paced and kinetic, satirical Film genre, genre films, which feature extensive utilisation of expressive popular music, Steadicam tracking shots, dolly zo ...
. ''Hi-Fi Rush'' entered production in 2018 in parallel with '' Ghostwire: Tokyo''. As part of the strategy by Bethesda, development was kept quiet, before the public announcement of the game's release. This was, in part, to avoid skepticism and unsure expectations, as the title was a big departure for both the developer and the publisher. After
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...
's purchase of Bethesda, marketing suggested that Game Pass might offer a solution, by lowering the entry barrier and allowing the game to generate interest by word-of-mouth. ''Hi-Fi Rush'' was announced at
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
and Bethesda Developer_Direct on January 25, 2023. The game's appearance was intended as a surprise, although the title and logo were leaked online a day prior to the event. After showcasing the trailer and some gameplay footage, Tango Gameworks announced that the game will be releasing on the same day for
Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...
and
Xbox Series X/S The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...
. The game received its final Xbox patch in May 2024 and the developers confirmed a physical edition was still in the works via
Limited Run Games Limited Run Games, Inc. is an American video game distributor based in Apex, North Carolina. The company produces and sells limited quantities of physical video game copies via its website and select retail stores. Josh Fairhurst and Douglas B ...
.


Music

The game's original soundtrack was created by former
Konami , commonly known as Konami, , is a Japanese multinational entertainment company and video game developer and video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The company also produces and distributes trading card ...
composer Shuichi Kobori, former
Capcom is a Japanese video game company. It has created a number of critically acclaimed and List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil'', ''Monster ...
composer Reo Uratani, and Tango Gameworks' sound designer Masatoshi Yanagi. ''Hi-Fi Rush'' uses ten licensed music tracks throughout the story: " Lonely Boy" by
The Black Keys The Black Keys are an American Rock music, rock duo formed in Akron, Ohio in 2001. The group consists of Dan Auerbach (guitar, Singing, vocals) and Patrick Carney (Drum kit, drums). The duo began as an Independent music, independent act, record ...
, "
1,000,000 1,000,000 (one million), or one thousand thousand, is the natural number following 999,999 and preceding 1,000,001. The word is derived from the early Italian ''millione'' (''milione'' in modern Italian), from ''mille'', "thousand", plus the a ...
" and " The Perfect Drug" by
Nine Inch Nails Nine Inch Nails, commonly abbreviated as NIN (stylized as NIИ), is an American industrial rock band formed in Cleveland, Ohio in 1988. Its members are the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Trent Reznor and his frequent col ...
, "
Free Radicals In chemistry, a radical, also known as a free radical, is an atom, molecule, or ion that has at least one unpaired electron, unpaired valence electron. With some exceptions, these unpaired electrons make radicals highly chemical reaction, chemi ...
" by
The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...
, "Inazawa Chainsaw" by Number Girl, " Fast as You Can" by
Fiona Apple Fiona Apple McAfee-Maggart (born September 13, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. She released five albums from 1996 to 2020, all of which reached the top 20 on the U.S. Billboard 200, ''Billboard'' 200 chart. As of 2021, she has sold over ...
, "
Invaders Must Die ''Invaders Must Die'' is the fifth studio album by English electronic dance music group The Prodigy. The album was released on 23 February 2009 on the band's new record label Take Me to the Hospital, and was distributed by Cooking Vinyl. Althou ...
" by
The Prodigy The Prodigy are an English electronic music band formed in Braintree, Essex, in 1990 by producer, keyboardist, and songwriter Liam Howlett. The original line-up also featured Rapping, MC and vocalist Maxim (musician), Maxim, dancer and occasi ...
, "Wolfgang's 5th Symphony" by
Wolfgang Gartner Joseph Thomas Youngman (born March 17, 1982), better known by his stage name Wolfgang Gartner, is an Americans, American DJ and music producer. Much of his music prior to 2010 was released through his own record label, Kindergarten, but he signe ...
, "
Whirring "Whirring" is a song by the Welsh alternative rock band the Joy Formidable. Written by the band, it was originally released on the band's debut EP, '' A Balloon Called Moaning'', in 2009 before being re-released on the band's debut full-length ...
" by
The Joy Formidable The Joy Formidable is a Welsh people, Welsh alternative rock band, formed in 2007 in Mold, Flintshire, and currently based in London, England. The band consists of Rhiannon "Ritzy" Bryan (lead vocals, guitar) and Rhydian Dafydd (bass guitar, b ...
, and " Honestly" by
Zwan Zwan was an American alternative rock supergroup formed in 2001 by lead guitarist/vocalist Billy Corgan and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin (both of the Smashing Pumpkins). Other members included bassist Paz Lenchantin (A Perfect Circle), plus guitari ...
. Bethesda Softworks also created an official
Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...
playlist with most of these tracks. To avoid issues such as
YouTube copyright strike On the American social media and online video sharing platform YouTube, a copyright strike is a copyright policing practice used by YouTube for the purpose of managing copyright infringement and complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Ac ...
s, the game includes an option to replace all licensed songs with similar original tracks performed by the band The Glass Pyramids.


Reception

''Hi-Fi Rush'' received "generally favorable" reviews on Xbox and PS5 and "critical acclaim" on PC, according to
review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews and ratings of products and services, such as films, books, video games, music, software, hardware, or cars. This system then stores the reviews to be used for supporting a website where user ...
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
. Jordan Middler, from ''
Video Games Chronicle ''Video Games Chronicle'' (''VGC'' is a British entertainment website covering video games published independently by 1981 Media. Led by editor-in-chief Andy Robinson, the team consists largely of former ''Computer and Video Games'' staff. Lau ...
'', said that ''Hi-Fi Rush'' is "oozing with style and confidence", although there is "repetitive level design and some clunky platforming", scoring with a 4 out of a 5 star rating. Jesse Norris, from ''XboxEra'', praised the combat, calling it sublime, but "can become difficult to read as the screen fills up with utter chaos", scoring it with 9.5 out of 10. Diego Argüello, from ''
Polygon In geometry, a polygon () is a plane figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its '' edges'' or ''sides''. The points where two edges meet are the polygon ...
'', called its animation gorgeous and ''
Jet Set Radio (originally released in North America as ''Jet Grind Radio'') is a 2000 action game developed by Smilebit and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. The player controls a member of a youth gang, the GG's, as they use inline skates to traverse ...
''-esque art style vivid and arresting. Giovanni Colantonio from ''
Digital Trends Digital Trends is a Portland, Oregon-based tech news, lifestyle, and information website that publishes news, reviews, guides, how-to articles, descriptive videos and podcasts about technology and consumer electronics products. With offices in P ...
'' was very positive in his review of the title, calling it "Tango Gameworks' most confident, stylish and surprising project to date". On the other hand, Tyler Colp from ''
PC Gamer ''PC Gamer'' is a magazine and website founded in the United Kingdom in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future plc. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games m ...
'' gave a more mixed review, finding the game to be promising in its concept but ultimately average in the action genre, and thought its setlist of music was limited and dated.


Sales

The game reached 2 million players by March 2023, which has been counted as a mix of both digital sales and downloaded Game Pass subscriptions. By August 2023, the game reached 3 million players between purchased copies and Game Pass subscriptions.


Awards


Future

On May 6, 2024,
Microsoft Gaming Microsoft Gaming is an American multinational video game and digital entertainment division of Microsoft based in Redmond, Washington, established in 2022. Its five development and publishing labels consist of: Xbox Game Studios, Bethesda Soft ...
, which controls
Bethesda Softworks Bethesda Softworks LLC is an American video game publisher based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded by Christopher Weaver in 1986 as a Division (business), division of Media Technology Limited. In 1999, it became a subsidiary of Z ...
parent
ZeniMax Media ZeniMax Media Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Rockville, Maryland. The company was founded in 1999 by Christopher Weaver and Robert A. Altman as the parent company for Weaver's video game publisher Bethesda Softworks. ...
and its development teams, announced that they were making organizational changes to the publisher which involved closing four studios under the Bethesda umbrella, including Tango Gameworks. Xbox Game Content and Studios head Matt Booty explained that shuttering the aforementioned teams reflected an initiative to prioritize what Microsoft considered "high-impact titles", which included more investment in established franchises in Bethesda's portfolio. When interviewed by Bloomberg Technology shortly thereafter,
Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...
head Sarah Bond addressed the closure of Tango more specifically, implying that an evaluation of success criteria on a game-by-game basis led to the decision. Despite Tango's closure, Booty would internally specify the necessity for Xbox to house the development of budget games that had potential for securing "prestige and awards" much like ''Hi-Fi Rush''.
Limited Run Games Limited Run Games, Inc. is an American video game distributor based in Apex, North Carolina. The company produces and sells limited quantities of physical video game copies via its website and select retail stores. Josh Fairhurst and Douglas B ...
, which previously announced plans to distribute a physical release of the game for
PlayStation 5 The PlayStation 5 (PS5) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. It was announced as the successor to the PlayStation 4 in April 2019, was launched on November 12, 2020, in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, North ...
and
Xbox Series X The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are the fourth generation of consoles in the Xbox series, succeeding the previous generation's Xbox One. Released on November 10, 2020, the higher-end Xbox Series X and lower-end Xbox Series S are part o ...
in February, assured that the title was still set to release as scheduled. Tango Gameworks was officially closed by Microsoft on June 14, 2024. At the time of their closure's confirmation, Tango was reported by ''
Bloomberg News Bloomberg News (originally Bloomberg Business News) is an international news agency headquartered in New York City and a division of Bloomberg L.P. Content produced by Bloomberg News is disseminated through Bloomberg Terminals, Bloomberg T ...
'' and other outlets to have pitched Microsoft and Bethesda on a ''Hi-Fi Rush'' sequel, but were turned down as executives felt that closing the developer would simultaneously ease communication with less teams spread across the world, and free up resources for other ventures. On August 12, 2024, publisher
Krafton Krafton Inc. () is a South Korean video game publisher and holding company based in Bundang District, Seongnam. It was created in November 2018 to serve as the parent company for Bluehole, founded by Chang Byung-gyu in Seoul in March 2007, and ...
announced they had reached an agreement to revive and acquire Tango Gameworks in its entirety from Microsoft and Bethesda, in an attempt to widen their global presence through investing in a Japanese studio. The acquisition coincided with Krafton obtaining full rights to the ''Hi-Fi Rush'' license, which enabled Tango Gameworks to continue development on the potential franchise while also producing more original projects under Krafton's support. The terms of the merger did not include the rights to either of Tango Gameworks' prior IPs, ''
The Evil Within ''The Evil Within'' is a 2014 survival horror, survival horror game developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda Softworks. It was directed by ''Resident Evil'' series creator Shinji Mikami. The game centers on protagonist Sebastian Ca ...
'' or '' Ghostwire: Tokyo'', which remain under Microsoft's ownership alongside the publishing rights to the original ''Hi-Fi Rush''. A Microsoft representative reiterated the company's intent to work with Krafton to ensure a smooth transition for Tango Gameworks and its developers, who were all re-hired by the firm, while also confirming that the agreement would not impact the existing availability of Tango's prior games under Bethesda on their current platforms, including on Microsoft's
Xbox Game Pass The Xbox Game Pass is a subscription service as part of Xbox and offered by Microsoft Gaming. Launched on June 1, 2017, the service allows users to download and play video games via video game consoles, Microsoft Windows, Android, iOS, iPad ...
service.


Notes


References


External links

* {{Tango Gameworks 2023 video games 3D platformers Bethesda Softworks games Fiction about prosthetics Graffiti video games Hack and slash games New York Game Award winners PlayStation 5 games Rhythm-action games Science fiction video games Single-player video games Tango Gameworks games The Game Awards winners Unreal Engine 4 games Video games about cyborgs Video games about robots Video games about slavery Video games developed in Japan Video games scored by Shuichi Kobori Video games with cel-shaded animation Xbox Series X and Series S games Windows games Microsoft games BAFTA winners (video games)