Hi-Fi Rush studio saved from Microsoft shutdown

Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks has been spared closure, three months after Microsoft announced plans to shut down the studio. Krafton, the South Korean publisher behind PUBG: Battlegrounds and The Callisto Protocol, announced on Monday that it had acquired the game and its Japanese studio, and is working with Xbox to enable a “smooth transition” to ensure the Tango Gameworks team can “continue developing the Hi-Fi Rush IP and explore future projects.”

Microsoft had initially announced in May that it was closing Tango Gameworks, alongside Redfall developer Arkane Austin and Mighty Doom developer Alpha Dog Studios — three studios it inherited after acquiring ZeniMax in 2021. The impending Tango Gameworks closure was widely criticized by the gaming community at the time, as Hi-Fi Rush had won several awards during the 2023–2024 awards season.

Being spared from Microsoft’s wave of layoffs and studio closures is a fate that Tango Gamesworks shares with Skylanders developer Toys For Bob, which instead left Microsoft / Activision to become an independent studio earlier this year.

The value of the deal has not been disclosed. Hi-Fi Rush was the only Tango IP mentioned in Krafton’s announcement, so it’s unclear if Microsoft is relinquishing the rights to the studio’s other franchises like The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo. We have reached out to Krafton for clarification. The PUBG owner says the acquisition won’t impact the availability of Tango Gameworks’ existing game catalog.

Krafton says it will support the Tango Gameworks team to deliver “fresh and exciting experiences for fans” — which means we may yet see the rumored Nintendo Switch Hi-Fi Rush port that never materialized, or possibly even sequels to the game.