Tango Gameworks, the legendary studio behind beloved games like The Evil Within and Hi-Fi Rush, got a fresh new start when Krafton acquired it shortly after Microsoft closed it down last year. Fortunately for its fans, the studio just confirmed that it established its new offices in Tokyo, Japan.
According to 4Gamer, Tango Gameworks resumed its operations in its new Tokyo offices on January 1, where they began working under Krafton. The studio confirmed that it will “inherit the unique color and development philosophy of Tango Gameworks and aim for further development”, which means that the developers will try to keep doing what they know best and make creative and unique games like they used to do under ZeniMax and Microsoft.
While Shinji Mikami, one of Tango Gameworks’ original founders, left back in 2023, the studio is still in good hands, since Colin Mack (who previously worked on The Evil Within 2 and Hi-Fi Rush as Executive Producer) is its new leader, and he promised that his team will “focus on developing works that are competitive in the global game market.”
As a side note, it’s important to remember that the studio officially changed its name, from just Tango Gameworks to Tango Gameworks Inc. It’s a very small difference, but it most likely did this in order to reflect its new relationship with Krafton Inc. This was announced a few days ago on its official Twitter/X account.
Tango Gameworks is now hiring! (Maybe to work on a Hi-Fi Rush sequel?)
What’s especially interesting about Tango Gameworks’ new start is that it’s already recruiting personnel for both “studio operations” and “new projects.” It is specifically looking for new character designers, animators, level designers and programmers, so any up-and-coming developers in Japan can apply for a position and join this talented team. Krafton has listed all these open positions on its official recruitment site.
Tango Gameworks has resumed its operations, and it’s looking to hire people to work on a new game. So, the only question is: Is the team working on a new Hi-Fi Rush game? After all, this was the only Tango Gameworks IP that Krafton managed to acquire from Microsoft and ZeniMax, not to mention that, back in December, Colin Mack and some of his colleagues confirmed that they’re considering working on a Hi-Fi Rush sequel.
As great and beloved as The Evil Within series was, Hi-Fi Rush was one of Tango Gameworks’ most innovative, creative and entertaining projects, to the point that it really changed the public’s perception of the studio. Many fans all around the world were frustrated and disappointed when Microsoft shut down the studio last year, seemingly destroying any hopes for a potential sequel in the process. Fortunately, considering that Krafton almost immediately revived Tango Gameworks and re-acquired the Hi-Fi Rush IP, it’s most likely that the studio’s new parent company wants to release a potential sequel in the near future. If the team already began working on this project after opening their new Tokyo offices, it’s very likely that Tango Gameworks will announce Hi-Fi Rush 2 sometime this year.
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