Revival: PUBG Publisher Acquires Tango Gameworks Studio and Hi-Fi Rush IP Rights
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Publisher Krafton, best known for publishing games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and the survival horror The Callisto Protocol,, has acquired the Japanese studio Tango Gameworks as well as the intellectual property rights to their latest title Hi-Fi Rush from Microsoft Gaming.
You can read the announcement from the publisher here, but simply put, Krafton is investing in the Japanese market by giving the studio a second life further to pursue the famed rhythm action game Hi-Fi Rush.
As part of this strategic agreement, KRAFTON intends to collaborate with Xbox and ZeniMax to ensure a smooth transition and maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks, allowing the talented team to continue developing the Hi-Fi RUSH IP and explore future projects. KRAFTON intends to support the Tango Gameworks team to continue its commitment to innovation and delivering fresh and exciting experiences for fans. There will be no impact on the existing game catalog of The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and the original Hi-Fi RUSH game.
This move comes months after Microsoft made the decision to shutter four studios multiple studios within the Bethesda company and one of them was Tango Gameworks.
The studio was founded in 2010 and was formed by Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami and the was responsible for projects such as The Evil Within series, Ghostwire Tokyo, and Hi-Fi Rush, which was shadow-dropped on PC and Xbox consoles when it was revealed in 2023.
Xbox acquired the studio in 2021 as part of the massive $7.5 billion purchase of Bethesda’s parent company Zenimax.
The Krafton acquisition is the company’s attempt at “expanding its global footprint and enhancing its portfolio with innovative and high-quality content.”
What does this mean?
Tango Gameworks will be given the support to keep the studio running and will likely work on more Hi-Fi Rush projects. It will take a while before we hear anything concrete from the Tango, nor do we have a full picture of what this deal entails and how much freedom Krafton will provide the studio.
For those that haven’t played Hi-Fi Rush, I highly recommend the title as it was the biggest surprise in 2023, a charming action game with a unique mix of action and rhythm gameplay that was easily my 2023 game of the year, giving it an easy 5/5 when I reviewed it last year.
Before Microsoft’s announcement to close Tango Gameworks, Xbox released Xbox titles like Hi-Fi Rush on multiple platforms to expand the game’s player reach. Those also no longer Xbox exclusives are Sea of Thieves, Pentiment, and Grounded.
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