Battlegrounds publisher acquires Hi-Fi Rush studio after Microsoft shut it down

Underneath a cloud of studio closures and layoffs, there is a sliver of sunshine within the gaming enterprise. After being closed by Microsoft in Might, Hello-Fi Rush studio Tango Gameworks has been acquired by PUBG: Battlegrounds developer Krafton.

“Krafton intends to collaborate with Xbox and ZeniMax to make sure a clean transition and keep continuity at Tango Gameworks, permitting the gifted staff to proceed growing the Hello-Fi Rush IP and discover future initiatives,” Krafton wrote in a press release noticed by Polygon.

Following its $7.5 billion buy of ZeniMax in 2021, Microsoft shut down three of its studios, Arkane Austin, Tokyo-based Tango Gameworks and Alpha Canine Studios. Tango was behind a number of notable titles, together with The Evil Inside, Ghostwire Tokyo and the rhythm-based brawler Hello-Fi Rush. The latter debuted in 2023 as an unique on Xbox Collection X and PC, and not too long ago got here to PS5 in March this year.

Krafton mentioned the acquisition won’t have an effect on present Tango video games together with The Evil Inside, The Evil Inside 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hello-Fi Rush.

Tango Gameworks was based in 2010 by Resident Evil 4 recreation director Shinji Mikami and initially made its title with horror titles like The Evil Inside. Hello-Fi Rush was a major departure and have become a crucial hit with a 10 out of 10 Steam score due to the fluid, partaking gameplay and distinctive graphical model.