Industry legend Shinji Mikami will leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months, according to an internal email gathered and verified by TrueAchievements. The news was reportedly shared by Bethesda’s Senior Vice President of Development Todd Vaughn, who wrote:
I am writing today to let you know that studio head Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months. Mikami-san has been a creative leader and supportive mentor to young developers at Tango for 12 years through his work on the Evil Within franchise, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and of course, Hi-Fi Rush.
Vaughn also highlighted that Hi-Fi Rush was one of the most successful Bethesda/Xbox launches in recent years, generating ‘positive momentum for the business’ and for the developer, Tango Gameworks.
The Tokyo-based studio was founded nearly thirteen years ago by Shinji Mikami and has since released four acclaimed PC/console games plus the unsuccessful Hero Dice mobile game.
Of course, Shinji Mikami’s career in the gaming industry long predates Tango Gameworks’ founding. Mikami-san spent a decade at CAPCOM working on masterpieces like Resident Evil, Dino Crisis, Devil May Cry, and Steel Battalion, just to name a few. He then moved to Clover Studio, where he directed God Hand, before directing Vanquish for PlatinumGames after Clover Studio had been dissolved. Then came the founding of Tango Gameworks.
It should be noted that at his most recent studio, Shinji Mikami only directed the first The Evil Within, while he is credited as executive producer on The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Hi-Fi Rush. The latter game was directed by John Johanas and received a highly positive reception after the shadow-dropped release that followed the Bethesda/Xbox Developer Direct.
Hi-Fi Rush received a 9/10 score on Wccftech from Ule Lopez.
Hi-Fi Rush is a fantastic game that combines two very popular genres and makes a wonderful and innovative game with a low skill floor but a high skill ceiling. The game is both accessible to newcomers to rhythm games and very challenging for veterans looking to be tested in several other areas that don’t necessarily have to do with just rhythm games. The combat is varied, the combos you learn are great to execute, and the music is a joy to listen to. Overall, a great success.
