Tango Gameworks will replace Hello-Fi Rush one final time earlier than Microsoft shuts the door on the studio. Microsoft introduced earlier in Could that it was closing three studios, together with Hello-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks. Shortly after the information of the closures, Tango Gameworks confirmed the game will “stay out there and playable in every single place” it is already accessible.
The ultimate patch is predicted to repair “minor points” in Hello-Fi Rush, and will likely be deployed afterward Wednesday. Tango Gameworks will proceed to work in partnership with Restricted Run Video games to launch the bodily model of the sport. “Thanks all in your continued help,” Tango Gameworks posted from its X account.
Microsoft’s choice to shut Tango Gameworks got here as a shock to many within the business; the Japanese studio shock launched the sport early final 12 months to vital and — what appeared like — industrial success. Xbox marketing director Aaron Greenberg posted on X in April 2023 that Hello-Fi Rush was “a breakout hit” in “all key measurements and expectations” at Microsoft. Only a day after the closure was introduced, Xbox Sport Studios lead Matt Booty advised employees that Microsoft wanted “smaller video games that give us status and awards” — a message that was shocking to staff, according to The Verge, as a result of Hello-Fi Rush is precisely that. Hi-Fi Rush had 3 million players and received loads of awards, including a prestigious BAFTA win for its animation.
Hello-Fi Rush followers confirmed their displeasure with the closure by assessment bombing the sport on Valve’s Steam platform — however reverse of the way it’s normally finished. Assessment bombing is normally a unfavorable act — individuals making an attempt to tank a sport’s assessment rating on a platform like Steam. However Hello-Fi Rush gamers added greater than 2,000 optimistic critiques to Steam in an try to indicate Microsoft how a lot they beloved it and to thank Tango Gameworks for his or her work. A number of reviewers commented on the ironic nature of the studio’s closure: Hello-Fi Rush is “an influence fantasy about tearing down an evil company whose executives deal with employees like fodder within the limitless pursuit of wealth,” as Polygon mentioned in its assessment.
Hello-Fi Rush was initially an Xbox unique, however was launched on PlayStation 5 in 2024. It’ll stay out there on all present platforms, regardless of the studio’s closure.