The head of Xbox suggests that the closure of Tango Gameworks may have been due to a change in leadership

The head of Xbox Game Studios indicated that Tango Gameworks was shutting down due to a change in creative leadership at the studio.

In an interview on Variety’s Strictly Business podcastMatt Botti was asked specifically about Tango’s closure and why it happened.

Although he did not name anyone specifically, Botti implied that a change in leadership and personnel at Tango may have been one of the reasons for the closure, suggesting that despite the success of Hi-Fi Rush, there was no Ensures that the remaining setting continues. He would achieve similar success in the future.

“I’m not going to get into the real nitty gritty of what happened in the decision, mostly out of respect for the people there, just because there was a lot of work that went into delivering Hi-Fi Rush, which was a great match and did well for us,” Botti said.

“I think the thing to keep in mind is that for us, this is as much a forward-looking situation as it is about looking at a particular game.

“There are a lot of things that contribute to the success of a game – what leadership do you have, what creative leadership do you have, is the team the same team that has delivered something successful previously?

“We have to look at all of these things together and ask ourselves, are we set up for success in the future? And while there may be factors or situations that previously led to success, they may not all remain in place when you look at what you do in the future.” .

Although he didn’t mention it specifically, Booty’s answer seems to at least partially refer to the departure of Tango founder Shinji Mikami, who left the studio in 2023 to form a new company.

Mikami, who directed The Evil Within and oversaw other Tango games as an executive producer, is best known for his time at Capcom, where he directed the first Resident Evil, the 2002 GameCube remake and Resident Evil 4, among other titles.

His decision to leave Tango may have an impact on the studio’s value to Microsoft, something Booty seems to imply in his latest explanation.

Booty also suggested that closing down Tango Gameworks entirely was not the only option considered, giving examples of former Xbox-owned studios becoming independent instead.

“With many of our studios, we try to look at options,” he explained. “For example, we recently had Toys For Bob, a studio that was previously working on Call of Duty titles, come back as a new independent studio, and we announced that we’ve secured a publishing deal with them and we’ll share more about that when it’s relevant.” .

“I think back to a studio called Twisted Pixel in Texas, which we acquired, and then to change goals – it’s not quite the same anymore – that studio today is still thriving, and we wanted to set it up for success.

“So we’re absolutely looking at possible business options to keep the studio open or maybe change it, and it’s just one of the things we’re looking at across the board. Sometimes those things come together, sometimes they don’t.”