What you need to know
- A day after Microsoft closed three Xbox studios — including Hi-Fi Rush developer Tango Gameworks — a Microsoft Gaming executive has reportedly said it needs more small games.
- Specifically, a report from The Verge indicates that Microsoft Gaming president of game content and studios Matt Booty said "we need smaller games that give us prestige and awards" in a town hall held on Wednesday.
- Hi-Fi Rush, a rhythm action game released in 2023 in a surprise shadow drop, was a bold departure for the horror-focused Tango Gameworks. It garnered over three million players since release and took home several awards across the industry, and Xbox itself called it "a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations."
- All of this is precisely why Microsoft's closure of Tango Gameworks yesterday was so shocking, and also why Booty's comments in the town hall have left many equally confused and baffled.
