Hi-Fi Rush devs may have been working on two new games before shutdown

Xbox torched a lot of goodwill when it announced the closure of Tango Gameworks earlier this month, after the studio created one of the platform’s best exclusives in Hi-Fi Rush.

While the studio’s previous projects didn’t attract the same acclaim, they still garnered some defenders – between The Evil Within, its sequel, and Ghostwire: Tokyo.

A post on LinkedIn has since started rumours of what Tango Gameworks was working on before they were closed, and it seems it may have involved at least two new games.

As highlighted by Twitter user @bogorad222, a LinkedIn page for former Tango Gameworks programmer Tsuyoshi Okugawa showed two job listings for ‘unannounced title graphics programmer 2024’ and ‘unannounced title lead programmer 2023-2024’.

While this might suggest there were two projects in development, the listings, which have since been deleted, don’t specify whether this relates to two separate games, or a potential job switch on the same project.

Based on previous speculation about what the studio was working on though, it’s certainly possible that Tango Gameworks was juggling two projects. According to Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier earlier this month, the studio was in the pitching process on a sequel to Hi-Fi Rush.

An Easter egg in Hi-Fi Rush also led many to believe The Evil Within 3 was in development, after a fictional news feed featured the line: ‘Sequel to popular game franchise anounced [sic]’. This, however, might be wishful thinking.

Along with Tango Gameworks, Microsoft also closed down Redfall developers Arkane Austin. According to a report on the Austin Business Journal, a total of 96 people are losing their jobs at the studio, which comes after Microsoft cut 1,900 gaming jobs earlier this year.

It’s unclear how many people were employed at Tango Gameworks but it’s thought to be around 65.

The decision to close both studios was described by Xbox Game Studios boss Matt Booty as a result of a ‘reprioritisation of titles and resources’ in an internal email.

‘These changes are grounded in prioritising high-impact titles and further investing in Bethesda’s portfolio of blockbuster games and beloved worlds which you have nurtured over many decades,’ Booty said.

‘To double down on these franchises and invest to build new ones requires us to look across the business to identify the opportunities that are best positioned for success. This reprioritisation of titles and resources means a few teams will be realigned to others and that some of our colleagues will be leaving us.’ he added.

As reported by Bloomberg, these studio closures, including mobile developer Alpha Dog, are said to be part of a widespread cost-cutting initiative at Xbox which still hasn’t finished – so more cuts are expected over the coming months.