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 sport will “stay accessible and playable in all places” it is already accessible.
The ultimate patch is predicted to repair “minor points” in Hello-Fi Rush, and can be deployed in a while Wednesday. Tango Gameworks will proceed to work in partnership with Restricted Run Video games to launch the bodily model of the sport. “Thanks all on your continued assist,” Tango Gameworks posted from its X account.
Microsoft’s determination to shut Tango Gameworks got here as a shock to many within the trade; the Japanese studio shock launched the sport early final yr to crucial and — what appeared like — industrial success. Xbox advertising 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 instructed workers that Microsoft wanted “smaller video games that give us status and awards” — a message that was shocking to workers, based on The Verge, as a result of Hello-Fi Rush is strictly that. Hello-Fi Rush had 3 million gamers and received loads of awards, together with a prestigious BAFTA win for its animation.
Hello-Fi Rush followers confirmed their displeasure with the closure by overview bombing the sport on Valve’s Steam platform — however reverse of the way it’s often performed. Evaluate bombing is often a unfavorable act — individuals making an attempt to tank a recreation’s overview rating on a platform like Steam. However Hello-Fi Rush gamers added greater than 2,000 optimistic critiques to Steam in an try to point out Microsoft how a lot they cherished 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 staff like fodder within the countless pursuit of wealth,” as gamerjive mentioned in its overview.
Hello-Fi Rush was initially an Xbox unique, however was launched on PlayStation 5 in 2024. It’ll stay accessible on all present platforms, regardless of the studio’s closure.
