At this point why am I even surprised that Microsoft, one of the largest corporate entities in the entire world are seemingly run by incompetent retards.
Just days ago, Microsoft made headlines, not for positive reasons but rather their announcement of four game studios owned by Bethesda and ZeniMax Media would be shuttered. These studios include Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, Alpha Dog Games, and Roundhouse Studios.
The closure of Tango Gameworks, in particular, has sparked criticism from fans and stakeholders due to Microsoft’s failure to provide adequate explanation for the decision.
Tango Gameworks was founded by former Capcom employee Shinji Mikami in 2010, is based in Tokyo. As a subsidiary of ZeniMax, it developed games published by Bethesda, including the “The Evil Within” series, “Ghostwire: Tokyo,” and “Hi-Fi RUSH.”
While “Hi-Fi RUSH” received widespread acclaim and prestigious awards like Best Audio Design at The Game Awards 2023 and Best Animation at the BAFTA Games Awards, it’s widely assumed that the game struggled financially.
This is likely due to Microsoft’s apparent lack of marketing efforts and sudden release without prior promotion.
Despite its positive reception upon release by both critics and players, with an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating, the game failed to attract significant sales. It only managed to accumulate 6,000 concurrent players on Steam at launch, indicating that it didn’t sell as well as anticipated.
The closure of the studio is perplexing, especially considering Arkane Austin’s situation. Their co-op vampire looter shooter “Redfall” appeared to underperform even more than Hi-Fi Rush in terms of sales, despite having a significantly larger budget and higher expectations.
Tango’s Hi-Fi Rush seemed poised for success, but Microsoft’s decision to withhold tangible marketing and opt for a simultaneous announcement and release ultimately led to its downfall.
Microsoft essentially set Tango Gameworks up for failure, and they executed it with finesse and confidence, reminiscent of a true samurai.
Microsoft, much like Sony, operate in ways that are difficult to comprehend. I refuse to support their products out of principle. Their console lineup is failing they have zero exclusives to speak of, and they seem intent on turning the Windows operating system into a subscription-based live service.
Furthermore, they’ve restricted access to technology on older operating systems like Windows 7 and 8, preventing them from using DirectX12 API, despite evidence suggesting it could function perfectly well on these systems, as seen with games like World of Warcraft.
We’re living in an era where actual product ownership is becoming increasingly abstract, with products like Hi-Fi Rush launching on PC with DENUVO anti-tamper DRM, some consumers would avoid it out of spite. Unfortunately, the game came and went because it was never cracked. Much like many others, leaving me and others unable to experience it on our own terms but to fork our money over to Microsoft.
Rumors speculate that Tango Gameworks was given the axe because Microsoft seemingly have too many individuals on the payroll, opting to remove companies that currently weren’t being productive and actually in active development of a particular game. Tango were allegedly in the process of hiring more personnel to work on a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush.
But the deed is done. Microsoft has shut down the Japanese studio, and it seems they couldn’t resist adding insult to injury. The head of XBOX Game Studios, Matt Booty, has declared that Microsoft’s gaming division is now prioritizing “smaller games that give us prestige and awards.”
During a Microsoft “town hall meeting” with ZeniMax employees, Matt Booty stated that the closure was due to staff shortages at ZeniMax-owned studios. However, he also outlined future plans, highlighting the significance of “smaller games that give us prestige and awards.”
Phil Spencer recently expressed Microsoft’s enthusiasm for “smaller games” that were not intended to become flagship platform-exclusive franchises. This is precisely why Microsoft spared no expense, quite literally, in marketing the game, which launched at $29.99 or basically half the cost of your average AAA title at the time.
According to The Verge’s Ash Parrish, who received information from an attendee, Booty made this comment during a town hall meeting with the division’s employees on May 8th.
Although Booty praised Tango Gameworks’ Hi-Fi Rush, a title that aligned with his forward-looking criteria, he did not provide any further details on why Microsoft decided to close the development studio. It seems that the “success” of Hi-Fi Rush did not outweigh the setbacks associated with Ghostwire Tokyo.
Regarding the overall studio closures, Booty reportedly stated that they were conducted to reallocate resources to divisions that were supposedly understaffed. He likened the situation to spreading peanut butter on bread. However, it’s hard not to notice the connection between the type of games that Matt Booty proclaimed Xbox wants and the type of game Hi-Fi Rush is.
Hi-Fi Rush, a small title that garnered accolades and awards, received five out of 26 industry nominations. It won the 2023 CEDEC Sound Award, ‘Best Audio Design’ at The 2023 Game Awards, the Tin Pan Alley Award for Best Music in a Game at the 2024 New York Game Awards, Best Audio at the 2024 GDC Awards, and Best Animation at the 2024 BAFTA Game Awards. It also made numerous ‘Game of the Year’ lists in the media and among players.
The only issue is that Microsoft seemingly didn’t give the game any attention or allocate any marketing efforts toward it.
Despite Microsoft essentially stifling the chances of success for Hi-Fi Rush by shutting down the studio, they now claim they want to make more games like it.
To make matters worse an interview was conducted with Sarah Bond, the president of Microsoft’s XBOX division with Bloomberg. Sarah Bond’s responsibilities include overseeing the XBOX platform and its business strategy, although she is not typically involved in determining the management policies of subsidiary studios.
The one conducting the interview, aware of this fact threw Sarah a curve ball by raising the closure of the four studios, highlighting that some had achieved success with multiple award-winning games, causing concern among the user community. Obviously in reference to Hi-Fi Rush.
They queried Sarah about why such achievements did not secure the future of the studios, likely seeking clarification on Tango Gameworks’ closure despite its success. In response, Sarah elaborated on management decisions, considering various factors including each studio’s situation and development teams.
She reiterated the long-term focus on providing games, devices, and services. As noted earlier, Sarah’s role typically does not involve determining subsidiary studios’ management policies, which might have influenced the certainty of her responses or rather non-responses.
Furthermore, even employees at Tango Gameworks appear to question the reason behind the studio’s closure. For instance, Kazuaki Egashira, the game project manager for “Hi-Fi RUSH,” showcased a shelf adorned with awards the studio had garnered, posing the question, “Not enough?” Despite the studio’s numerous award-winning accomplishments, there appears to be dissatisfaction with the decision to close it down.
Similarly, John Johanas, who served as director/creative director for titles such as “The Evil Within 2” and “Hi-Fi RUSH,” also expressed skepticism in response to Matt Booty’s hypocritical statement. It seems that even the staff members from the closed studio themselves may not have received a satisfactory explanation regarding their termination.
There has been rumors and speculation regarding the closure of Tango Gameworks, with some rumors suggesting that Shinji Mikami, the studio’s founder who departed in 2023, poached staff members for his new venture, KAMUY Inc.
Nevertheless, the absence of an official explanation for Tango Gameworks’ closure has led to confusion and the demand from fans and stakeholders for a satisfactory explanation which is unlikely to be had from a company as heinous as Microsoft.
Insights from former Microsoft staff Brad Hilderbrand, who served as Senior Public Relations Manager at Microsoft until recently, shared his views on LinkedIn. He suggests that the recent studio closures are tied to the revenue status of Game Pass and the acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Brad clarifies that games on Game Pass are accessed through a subscription model, where consumers have a license to play the available games for the duration of their subscription. This means they don’t make individual purchases for specific titles, resulting in no direct sales revenue. While revenue from popular Game Pass titles is distributed, maintaining a top position for months on end is impossible, posing challenges in recovering development costs.
I wish for a scenario where major game developers and publishers face bankruptcy, leading to a significant crash in the gaming industry. This, in turn, could pave the way for a revival of our once niche industry, focusing on games created with genuine passion and soul.
I however still can’t help but get quite pissed off over the fact that a small Japanese studio through no fault of their own are baring the brunt of Microsoft’s own negligence and incompetence.
It’s frustrating to see studios like Tango Gameworks being the first casualties as the industry undergoes an inevitable course correction, particularly as ESG hedge fund capital dries up.
Meanwhile, entities like 343 Industries, despite producing continuous failures through endless outsourcing, continue to shit all over and tarnish one of Microsoft’s most beloved franchises, Halo.
