Krafton, the publisher behind PUBG: Battlegrounds And The Callisto Protocolhas acquired Tango Gameworks, the studio responsible for the games “The Evil Within” and Hi-Fi noiseTango was shut down by Microsoft and ZeniMax Media in May, but the talent that founded the Tokyo-based studio will be integrated into Krafton, which now owns the rights to Hi-Fi noise.
In a press release, Krafton said it “intends to work with Xbox and ZeniMax to ensure a smooth transition and maintain continuity at Tango Gameworks so that the talented team can continue the development of the Hi-Fi noise IP and explore future projects.” Krafton added that it “intends to support the team at Tango Gameworks as they continue their commitment to innovation and bring fresh and exciting experiences to fans.”
The switch from Microsoft to Krafton has no impact on Tango’s existing games catalog, which includes The evil within, The Evil Within 2, Ghostwire: Tokyoand the original Hi-Fi noisethe publisher announced. Hi-Fi noise is available for PlayStation 5, Windows PC and Xbox Series X.
Tango Gameworks was founded in 2010 by Shinji Mikami. The studio’s first release, The evil withinwas a survival horror game in the style of Mikami’s work at Capcom, where he had overseen survival horror games resident Evil, Dino CrisisAnd Resident Evil 4 as game director. Tango Gameworks became part of the Xbox studio stable when ZeniMax was acquired by Microsoft in 2021. Mikami left Tango in 2023.
The studio had great success with critics with Hi-Fi noise in 2023. The rhythm action game was a surprise release as part of Microsoft’s Game Pass subscription and was very different from the dark and brutal games that Tango Gameworks had become known for.
Krafton’s announcement comes just days after former Arkane Austin developers working on games prey And Dishonoredhas announced a new first-person action RPG in its Wolfeye Studio.
Microsoft announced in May that it plans to close three studios under the Bethesda Softworks umbrella: Red Case Developer Arkane Austin, Mighty Doom Developers Alpha Dog Studios and Tango Gameworks. A fourth studio, Roundhouse Games, had to reassign its employees to other tasks.
