Summary
- Krafton saves Tango Gameworks, securing jobs and Hi-Fi Rush rights, an uplifting story in a tumultuous industry.
- Microsoft's closure of Tango had fans disappointed, but Krafton steps in to ensure continuity and staff rehiring.
- While Krafton's move is profit-driven, it saved an innovative studio from corporate greed, shedding light on gaming industry flaws.
What’s this I hear on the wind? Is it… It can’t be… Is it positive gaming news? Three months ago, Microsoft announced the closure of Tango Gameworks, scuppering fans’ hopes for a sequel to surprise hit 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Hi-Fi Rush. Or, if you’re TheGamer’s only northern Features Editor (hello!), scuppering your hopes for a sequel to horror-platformer 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Ghostwire: Tokyo.
In the early hours of this morning, Korean gaming giant 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Krafton announced it has⛎ saved the developer, securing the future of the studio and even rehiring old staff. Most importantly for gamers, it has also acquired the rights to Hi-Fi Rush. Most importantly for the games industry, Krafton emphasises that it wants to “ensure a smooth transition and maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks”, meaning that most of the devs have h♒opefully retained their jobs.
It’s refreshing to finally see a positive story around the games i🔴ndustry. In a year when we’ve already had so many layoffs, it’s great to see some jobs saved for once, to see developers continue working ꦯon their passion projects, to see games like Hi-Fi Rush saved from oblivion.
I wasn’t the biggest Hi-Fi Rush fan. I thought it was alright. I liked the colourful world and that physical heartbeat visible through every level, but some of the rhythm sections felt slightly off and the characters were a little twee for my liking. I much preferred Tango’s previous game, Ghostwire: Tokyo. But people loved it. My friends loved it. It won awards. Our 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Lead News Editor George Foster even got it tattooed on his chest. It was Xbox’s shining star in a year when ൩big hitters like Starfield and Redfall faltered. And it was unceremoniously canned.
This wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair to the game and it wasn’t fair to the developers, who had poured so much love and creativity into a wholly original game. It also didn’t make sense for Xbox’s strategy; Microsoft wants small-budget games that win awards and sell lots of copies, someth🃏ing that Hi-Fi Rush undeniably did. It was a creative triumph and a commercial success.
Microsoft tries to position itself as the ‘good guy’ of gaming, offering all of its games in a cheap-as-chips subscription service. It’s for the people, it wants you to p🐼lay games and not pay 70 quid for an exclusive. Except, Game Pass prices have skyrocketed. It has closed down wonderful, innovative studios in order toꦿ fund the Call of Duty machine. That expensive subscription you took out in order to play that new Call of Duty game for ‘free’? It might not even give you CoD any more.
I’m not going to make out that Krafton is some anti-Microsoft, anti-capitalist saviour of the gaming industry. It’s a multi-billion dollar cౠorporation. Its games are good, but often plagued by poor monetisation practices. It’s a company that wants to make money first and foremost, and it’s money – not warmheartedness or charity – that has saved Tango Gameworks. It’s a good strategy, and I’m glad Krafton has made this move, but it’s a move borne out of profit, nothing else.
Former Striking D🌞istance Studios CEO Glen Schofield💖 claims that
Whatever the reasons for the acquisition, Tango Gameworks has been saved from oblivion, and that’s a Good Thing. The only downside is the games that have been left behind🔜.
While Krafton acquired the Hi-Fi Rush IP with Tango, it left behind Ghostwire: Tokyo and The Evil Within series, the horror titles that made the studio’s name. I know plenty of gamers who would commit crimes to plaไy The Evil Within 3, and I personally would have loved Krafton to help produce Ghostwire: Seoul. With at least one pre-ordeﷺr on the books from yours truly, it’s a wonder Krafton didn’t include the IP in the deal.
This is the reality of modern gaming. I highly doubt Microsoft will do anything with The Evil Within or Ghostwire: Tokyo in the future, but it’s hoarding the rights so that its competition can’t do anything with them either. It’s a Nemesis S𒀰ystem situation all over again.
The gaming industry is broken, and huge corporations like Microsoft are largely to blam𓂃e. While there is a happy ending (for now) for Tango Gameworks, some of its history has been forcibly ripped from it by corporate greed. I’m glad that the studio lives on, I’m glad that the developers will likely be working on a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush, I’m glad that we finally have a positive story coming out of a games industry consistently devastཧated over the past years. But it shouldn’t be like this.
Hi-Fi Rush's Physical Release Could Be Essential To Preserving History
With licensed music galore, could the digital version be a ti💞cking time♓ bomb?
