It's been just over a year now since Xbox made the controversial decision to shut multiple studios, including Tango Gameworks of Hi-Fi RUSH, Ghostwire: Tokyo and The Evil Within fame. Fortunately, that wasn't the end of the story.
In June of 2024, the company officially closed its doors, but in July it had been revived by PUBG Publisher Krafton. Hi-Fi RUSH 2 was announced during this process, but we haven't really heard much from the company since then.
Well, until now at least! Today, Tango Gameworks has announced that its Tokyo office has officially reopened, and the company is hiring for a large number of positions on its website to help kickstart this brand-new era.
"World-renowned game developer Tango Gameworks, based in Tokyo, announced on June 2nd a rebranding of their studio identity alongside the launch of their new website, including multiple open positions for work on their next project. Tango’s new logo represents the beginning of a new era and refocused vision for the studio."
"It took us some time, but the official office for Tango Gameworks, Inc. is open, and our hybrid work environment finally has its in-office counterpart! These things take time, but our office in Tokyo is back open as we fill it with our memorabilia from our projects and begin decorating based on our new brand identity!"
As you can see, today's press release also refers to a "next project" that remains unknown for now, described as "ambitious" by the team. It remains be seen whether this is Hi-Fi RUSH 2 or something else entirely.
So, a new chapter begins for Tango Gameworks! It sounds like Krafton is keen to ship these games on Xbox in the future as well, mentioning last year how Xbox boss Phil Spencer had been "incredibly accommodating to the needs of the Tango team" in the midst of an "unusual" opportunity to buy the studio while Xbox was in the process of shutting it down. That may end up paying off big time in the future!
Anyway, best of luck to everyone at Tango Gameworks - we can't wait to see what you come up with.