Sorry to add to the pain of this week's news, but for those who are big fans of the great Xbox first-party title Hi-Fi RUSH, you'll be sad to know that Tango Gameworks was seemingly trying to get a sequel greenlit prior to the studio's closure.
This is according to the latest report from Bloomberg that dropped this evening, which mentions that Tango was in the process of pitching the idea to Xbox before Microsoft made the decision to shut the studio entirely.
In addition to this, Arkane Austin was reportedly trying to get back to a single-player "immersive sim" project after the disappointment surrounding Redfall, but unfortunately that studio was a victim of this week's closures as well.
It seems Tango Gameworks and Arkane Austin might have been the victims of bad timing overall, as both teams apparently needed to hire more staff to make these new projects, which appears to have been a factor in their demise.
Would you have loved a Hi-Fi RUSH 2? Tell us down in the comments section below.
[source bloomberg.com]
Comments 21
Random hypothetical question - would you rather bethesda spat out elder scrolls and fallout consistently (at least 1 new game every 2 years) or had the diverse portfolio with hi fi, redfall, wolfenstein,etc. but ES and Fallout remained on the whole decade between sequels schedule?
I'm not saying that's what's going on here, just curious.
@BacklogBrad I’d 100% take games like Hi-Fi Rush with large gaps in between over a quick turn around any day. Hell, I’d take Hi-Fi over either of those games even if it meant they were scrapped entirely. Don’t get me wrong, they’re great games but I get burnt out on them. At least games like Hi-Fi felt fresh and original, while being the perfect length.
Absolute joke that Phil and everyone at Xbox praised HI-FI Rush and then shut them down a year later. I will never trust a word from any of them again fed up with the lies and half truths.
They should have done the decent thing and let Tango go independent and keep the IP's so they could continue. We all know that Microsoft won't do anything with them like the many they have already left to die.
@BacklogBrad I would tweak you offer a little bit; 3-4 years between new Fallout/ES games and we keep just about everything else.
That's really sad of it's true but then Microsoft only seems to want to fund huge projects now that they can make money from that way smaller ones don't seem to stand a chance now.
F*ck you Microsoft. That’s all.
@Kooky_Geezer
Phil also said how important Tango was as much needed Studio for Xbox in Japan.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2021/03/phil_spencer_calls_the_acquisition_of_tango_gameworks_a_great_step_for_xboxs_japan_presence
Either Phil is a two face snake or… perhaps what others have said in related posts might be true. That Phil is no longer in the driving seat.
Imagine being a studio known for one very specific thing, investing in an idea that's so far removed from what you made your name on that it could be seen as a huge risk (even at a lower budget), having that game release to immediate and universal critical and commercial acclaim, and giving your publisher the biggest new IP they've had in nearly 2 decades.
Then, when you go to pitch a sequel, they say "Counter offer, you're all fired."
Why would anyone want to work in this industry, again?
Pure had one of the few actual Xbox fandoms around and half or more of the population turned to open revolt overnight.
I think its time to put Pure back on ice. It's over.
Maybe we need HotSteam. DeckWorld? HotDeck?
The hardware might still be ideal for me. I'll give them to June. Then maybe either change my default buying platform to ps or get a Deck/Ally. Unless they pull a rabbit out of their hat I think they just sunk the brand even if only by not communicating their actual strategy until after their Numbers are already spiraling.
@TanaDax Phil lost control the moment abk closed. Satya presented the last showcase. Really nothing else to say.
This is pretty f***** up. Very disappointing.
@BacklogBrad My personal answer to your hypothetical is more ES and Fallout because I love those games, and don't like the 3 games you mentioned, including Hi-Fi Rush which I criticized as "***** Gen-Z bait that I'm too old to get." I'm not going to pretend I liked it retroactively because people lost their jobs.
That said, that's not what's going on here. And just because I personally didn't like the game, doesn't mean it wasn't extremely well rated by critics and most others who played it, shutting down the developer is f***ing indefensible. I've been the conductor of the doom train since January and even I didn't have them closing Tango on my bingo card. For months I've repeatedly outlined where Microsoft is headed (spoiler: out of the console space) and how they're going to get there, and I just didn't see them doing anything like this, at least so soon. I thought we were walking down a staircase to the end and I think we just got bumped onto a waterslide.
Man, that’s really sad. I always hear good things about that game. I really should try it out.
@Jenkinss I disagree with the heading out of the console space narrative. They will continue to make hardware, it just won't be the core pillar of their gaming strategy. Sony is probably heading this way too as younger generations just are not adopting the home console lifestyle.
This is just making me more sad😭
@BacklogBrad They're definitely going to make hardware, and I'm actually really curious to see what the heck it is. It's just not going to be a traditional console. From the hints we've gotten it's sounding like an OEM PC.
No chance Sony bows out, and with MS out of the picture their profits will swell as they can slash their 3rd party exclusive budget and hike prices with no real competitor. Hell they won't even have to sell PS6 at a loss.
Ok just cause the studio closed doesn't mean a sequel can't happen. MS owns the IP they can have one of the other studios do it.
@Tasuki And who's going to make it? And which studio? Xbox has nothing to spare for a small game like this.
@BacklogBrad Since I hate Bethesda RPGs, I'd rather Microsoft do anything BUT those types of games.
Xbox gave Tango gameworks last chance by releasing it on ps5. I guess the all mighty playstation wasn't able to carry hifi. didn't made any thing.
@MsJubilee My apologies didn't know you worked for Microsoft.
After putting my pitchfork down, my guess is we don’t have the full story as to why these studios may have been shuttered. If they needed to hire, maybe Xbox thought it wasn’t worth it. Still seems silly to have shut them down though
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