At the start of this month, Microsoft announced it would be closing down a number of studios, including Tango Gameworks, which created Hi-Fi Rush. The rhythm-based action game was the surprise hit of 2023 and as it gets its final update, the developer’s creative director reflects on these last moments.
“Keep on rocking!”
In a post on X recently, John Johanas, who directed Hi-Fi Rush, expressed “absolute sadness” to see the last patch for the game being sent out. The message goes on to say that while the closure of Tango was only a week ago, it has felt like “an eternity” in terms of emotions.
The patch – which has been released for all versions of the game – fixes a few more bugs, with some additional QA-ing. The purpose of this update – according to the patch notes – is to “take care of some remaining issues.”
Johanas does also mention that physical copies of Hi-Fi Rush are still on the horizon, so the game isn’t quite dead just yet. However, there won’t be any further updates as the studio faces foreclosure.
As the director sends a heartfelt thank you to the community – adding “you are all rockstars” – replies to the thread have been pouring in. Many fans have been saying an emotional goodbye to Tango Gameworks and its roster of releases.
As well as Hi-Fi Rush, the Japanese developer was also responsible for the horror series The Evil Within, with the first installment being directed by Shinji Mikami of Resident Evil fame. Mikami founded the company in 2010.
As well as Tango, Microsoft also closed down Arkane Austin, the studio responsible for the disappointing Redfall. Despite the game’s backlash, many were still sad to see the developer close its doors.
Other developers that were affected by the cuts include Might Doom creator Alpha Dog Games, while Roundhouse Studios will be absorbed into the Elder Scrolls Online team.
