The recent closures of Xbox have definitely caused discussion and raised many doubts among fans and professionals, especially due to the farewell to Tango Gameworksthe studio that created, among others, the award-winning Hi-Fi Rush.
A production that has become a real calling card for Xbox Game Pass, to the point of being announced and released by surprise on the subscription service (you can find it on Amazon), but which despite the excellent acclaim from critics and the public she failed to save the studio from closure.
Xbox management has admitted on several occasions that it was not an easy decision to make, without ever delving into the specifics of why it was necessary. Today, finally, we have an official answer.
In an interview given to Variety (Street VGC), Matt Booty delved into the closure of Tango Gameworks, going into the merits of why the Redmond house decided it had no choice but to continue on this path.
The head of Xbox Game Studios explains that he doesn’t want to go into too much detail out of respect for those who developed it Hi-Fi Rushwhich confirms that it was «a great game that did well» for Xbox, but that’s the final analysis he couldn’t concentrate solely on this title.
“There are a lot of things that go into the success of a game — what leadership do you have, what creative leadership do you have, is this the same team that previously gave us something successful?
We need to look at all of these aspects and ask ourselves, “Are we prepared to be successful in the future?” And while there may have been situations or factors that previously led us to success, they may no longer be present looking into the future».
In short, Matt Booty seems to have gone around a lot, but it is clear that all references would be for Shinji Mikami’s farewell: The author had provided supervision to all projects produced by the studio up to that point, including himself Hi-Fi Rush.
The head of Xbox Game Studios made many references to a change in direction and leadership of the studio: evidently, Microsoft believed that there was no no one who could actually fill the chasm left by his father Resident Evilleading to the decision to close the entire studio.
But why proceed with a definitive closure? Matt Booty explains that it was not a “gut” decision and that, before proceeding with this solution, Xbox tried to understand if there could be alternatives.
Booty gives the example of Toys for Bob, which returned to being an independent studio after the acquisition of Activision Blizzard, or Twisted Pixel, which despite the separation from Microsoft is still an active studio:
«Sometimes these things work out well, other times not».
The implication is therefore that, perhaps also due to the fact that Tango Gameworks is a Japanese studio far from other Microsoft properties, the Redmond house has not seen any other alternatives that permanently cut funding.
An explanation that is certainly little consolation for the development team, which just a few days ago published a photo for the last day in the studio.
And that we are certain will still be hotly debated fans and critics.
