Hi-Fi Rush dev hits back at Microsoft exec calling for more award-winning games with their own awards: "Not enough?"

Soon to be closed Xbox studio Tango Gameworks has confirmed that a physical edition of Hi-Fi Rush is still being worked on.

Xbox Game Studios head Matt Booty has reportedly said Microsoft needs smaller games that will earn it «prestige and awards» a day after shutting down Tango Gameworks.

Since Microsoft’s shuttering of developer Tango Gameworks, angry fans of the studio’s work have taken to bombarding the Steam listings for Hi-Fi Rush, Ghostwire: Tokyo and The Evil Within and its sequel with reviews. Interestingly, while movements among fanbases like this typically opt to go with negative reviews, the Steam reviews for these games are incredibly positive.

Hi-Fi Rush fans are currently leaving tons of positive reviews on the game's Steam page, marking another community-driven instance of reverse-review bombing. The occurrence follows parent company Xbox's decision to shutter Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks.

Ah, it feels like only yesterday that Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks, creators of Hi-Fi Rush, and now here's Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, telling Microsoft staff at an internal townhall meeting that "we need smaller games that give us prestige and awards" - a sentence we might plausibly lengthen to "...like Hi-Fi Rush".

Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks were reportedly in the process of pitching sequels to Dishonored and Hi-Fi Rush before Xbox’s sudden closure of their studios on Tuesday. This news comes after learning more details surrounding the shutdown of three ZeniMax Media subsidiary studios, Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks prominently among them.

The first has not made its way online yet, but an exclusive audience got to watch Sam Wilson in action alongside Joaquin Torres and shared their reactions to it. While fans will have to wait for Captain America: Brave New World until February 2025, they can be confident about the project as the response to its first trailer is highly positive.

The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft's Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn't finished.

One day after closing Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks, Xbox studios boss Matt Booty reportedly told staff the company needs “smaller games that give us prestige and awards”.

The sudden closure of several video-game studios at Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox division was the result of a widespread cost-cutting initiative that still isn't finished. 

Microsoft has shuttered several Bethesda-owned game studios, including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks and Redfall maker Arkane Austin, in order to shift focus on to its “priority games”. The Xbox parent is also closing Alpha Dog Games, makers of the mobile game Mighty Doom, while Roundhouse Studios, which also contributed to Redfall development, will be absorbed by ZeniMax Online Studios. The development, initially reported by IGN, was confirmed by affected studios Tango Gameworks and Arkane in separate posts on X late Tuesday. The shutdowns come months after Microsoft announced layoffs at Xbox and Activision Blizzard earlier this year, which made 1,900 roles redundant.

The video game industry has reacted with shock and anger after Microsoft shut down several game studios today, May 7, 2024 including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks, the developers of Redfall and Hi-Fi Rush respectively.