- Tango Gameworks staff and IP Hi-Fi Rush becomes Krafton's property

Several months ago, in the midst of corporate restructuring and mass layoffs (which included the closure of Redfall's team Arkane Austin), Microsoft appeared to have shuttered the doors on developer and Bethesda subsidiary Tango Gameworks, the creators of 2023's critically acclaimed hit Hi-Fi Rush. In a surprise twist, it has been reported that Microsoft has reached an agreement with Krafton Incorporated, according to GamesIndustry.biz. 

"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," the publisher said in a press release. "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."

As of this writing, there are no details about the arrangements of this deal. While this trims Xbox's influence in Japan, as Tango was Microsoft's only Japanese team. Despite Hi-Fi Rush being a success, Microsoft saw it not worth pursuing keeping the studio around. Based out of South Korea, KRAFTON has published the aforementioned battle royale game, Player Unknown's Battlegrounds, The Callisto Protocol, which failed to net profits and was considered "average" by the player base and critics, and the mobile game Dark and Darker.

Founded by former Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami (and Hi-Fi Rush being the last game he worked on prior to his departure in February 2023), Tango is a talented staff who could add some interesting diversity to KRAFTON's library, and considering the alternative, it's good to know that staff will get another chance to develop software in a financially stable ecosystem. A loss for Microsoft, but a gain for third party game production.

SOURCES: KRAFTON, GamesIndustry.biz