To avoid becoming jaded, we are choosing to think this year will be different for the video game industry. Never mind that the tens of thousands of layoffs in development and publishing last year are likely to have ongoing and systemic implications for many more to come. We want to focus on a single silver lining and remain positive: Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks has risen from the flames like a phoenix and, under KRAFTON, will live again, this time as Tango Gameworks Inc.
After Tango was unceremoniously axed by Xbox alongside other Bethesda studios, Korean publisher KRAFTON (of PUBG fame) worked behind the scenes to preserve the Tokyo-based team. In a year filled with stories of studio closures, redundancies, and furloughs, this was one of the few we covered that achieved something like a positive outcome.
On X, Tango announced the happy news, blessing the timeline with some positivity. KRAFTON seemingly doesn't expect Hi-Fi Rush 2 even to turn a profit, keeping the team alive for the love of the game and its future promise, presumably. You love to see it.