Microsoft axes four game studios including Hi-Fi Rush developer

Hi-Fi Rush was much admired by critics when it was released in 2023 – the game went on to win several end-of-year awards for its animation and sound design.

But alarm bells began ringing at Tango Gameworks after it was among the four games Microsoft released on rival consoles this year.

Its founder, Shinji Mikami, had already left to start his own rival studio.

The closure of Tango Gameworks means an end to the studio responsible for several popular games, including The Evil Within and Ghostwire: Tokyo.

In a short post on X, formerly Twitter, the developer thanked its fans.

“Thank you to everyone who explored the worlds we created,” it said, external.

The move has been met with criticism from gamers as well as those within the company, with Dinga Bakaba, the studio head of Arkane Austin sister studio Arkane Lyon, calling the cuts “absolutely terrible”.

“Permission to be human: to any executive reading this, friendly reminder that video games are an entertainment/cultural industry, and your business as a corporation is to take care of your artists/entertainers and help them create value for you,” he wrote on X.

“For now, great teams are sunsetting before our eyes again, and it’s a gut stab.”

It is the latest string of cuts to come in an industry that has already seen tens of thousands of jobs lost, with Bethesda itself already facing cuts announced in January 2024.

At that point, Microsoft had around 22,000 people working in its gaming division.