Silent Hill creator and director of upcoming horror title Slitterhead Keiichiro Toyama has commented on Microsoft’s shock closure of Tango Gameworks in May 2024.
Speaking to VGC, Toyama used the example of Elden Ring developer FromSoftware as a “successful” studio as, while Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice are different games, they all feature the studio’s signature gameplay loop.
In contrast, Tango Gameworks, which was founded in 2010 by horror game visionary and Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami, jumped around genres, going from a similarly third-person survival horror franchise The Evil Within to rhythm-based action game Hi-Fi Rush, via the spooky but not strictly horror, first-person, open-world action platformer Ghostwire: Tokyo.
Not changing everything every time might be the key to life and surviving. Hi-Fi Rush is a smaller scale game compared to previous Tango Gameworks titles, one absent of the dark themes the studio was previously known for. But Microsoft claimed it was a success, reaching two million players in a month and receiving high praise from critics. A year after launch, however, Microsoft shocked the video game world by shutting Tango Gameworks down.
“I don’t feel it’s my place to give them advice, but I think going back to what I said earlier about the balance of routine and preserving the style of your games is relevant,” Toyama said of the closure.
“You look at an example like FromSoftware: they keep making different games but certain styles and aspects of their games stay the same. That’s an obvious example of how a studio is successful. Not changing everything every time might be the key to life and surviving.”
Tango Gameworks’ closure came alongside other lay-offs at Microsoft, including the shutting down of Redfall developer Arkane Austin, amid cuts affecting 1,900 staff.
Microsoft’s gaming executives have remained vague so far on the exact reasons for the closures, but Xbox boss Phil Spencer later discussed it with IGN.
“I have to run a sustainable business inside the company and grow, and that means sometimes I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make,” he said.
Meanwhile, FromSoftware’s Elden Ring has sold an incredible 25 million copies, with DLC Shadow of the Erdtree sold five million in just three days.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
