Tango Gameworks head stepping down

The founder and CEO of the studio behind The Evil Within and Hi-Fi Rush is leaving the company after 13 years.

The founder and CEO of Tango Gameworks, Shinji Mikami, will be leaving the studio later this year, after 13 years leading the company.

The departure was communicated to staff at Tango through an email from Bethesda senior vice president Tood Vaugh. Bethesda’s parent company ZeniMax Media acquired Tango in 2010, shortly after the studio was founded.

TrueAchievements, who saw the email and verified its authenticity, published an excerpt from the email, where Vaughn announced Mikami’s departure.

“I am writing today to let you know that studio head Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months,” Vaughn said in the email, “Mikami-san has been a creative leader and supportive mentor at Tango for 12 years through his work on the Evil Within franchise, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and of course, Hi-Fi Rush”.

Bethesda posted a similar message on Twitter, confirming the departure and thanking Mikami for his work at the studio.

pic.twitter.com/yP6WaSxOun

— Bethesda (@bethesda) February 23, 2023

Prior to forming Tango Gameworks, Mikami worked at Capcom, where he was instrumental in creating the legendary Resident Evil franchise. His interest and experience with the survival horror genre was brought over to his new studio, where he and his team went on to create The Evil Within, its sequel, and Ghostwire Tokyo.

He later acted as executive producer on Hi-Fi Rush, which was released last month as a surprise game headlining an Xbox presentation. The game was both announced and released on the same day, to the shock of many fans.

Hi-Fi Rush became an instant hit, quickly becoming one of the most popular games on Xbox Game Pass. The game was praised for its stylish, cartoon-like visuals, strong rhythm gameplay, and excellent writing.

Vaugh said in the email to staff that Hi-Fi Rush was “one of the most successful launches for Bethesda and Xbox in recent years”, saying that the game “generated significant positive momentum for the business and Tango”.

The Evil Within was praised for its strong writing and survival horror gameplay. Picture: Tango Gameworks

It’s said that Tango will continue work on the game, as well as Ghostwire: Tokyo, while Bethesda works with the studio to find a suitable replacement for the team going forward. It’s also not known what Mikami will do after leaving the studio, but many believe he could be retiring from games altogether.

Tango Gameworks has yet to announce its future plans for any new video games, but Hi-Fi Rush director John Johanas told GLHF in an interview that “anything is possible” in the future, thanks to the success of the game.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.