Krafton Boss Says Hi-Fi Rush Acquisition Was a “Last Minute Deal”

When Microsoft announced the closure of Tango Gameworks, fans of Hi-Fi Rush were left shocked and dismayed. The announcement was a huge surprise, and potential sequels seemed unlikely. A few months later, Krafton announced plans to acquire both the studio and the Hi-Fi Rush franchise from Microsoft, with plans of creating a follow-up game. Details have been slim since, but Krafton CEO Changhan ‘CH’ Kim offered new information about the deal in an interview with Game Developer. According to Kim, the acquisition was something of a “last minute deal” and that’s the reason Krafton did not acquire The Evil Within or Ghostwire Tokyo. 

“If we were to acquire all IPs, I think it’s going to complicate the deal too much. Krafton is a pretty big company, but Microsoft is very complicated,” Kim told Game Developer. “We wanted to help the team continue developing their games, but especially Hi-Fi Rush. When I think about our fans, I think what they really care about is Hi-Fi Rush sequels.”

The interview with Game Developer highlights how the acquisition has not yet been finalized, which is why we don’t know how much Krafton spent. However, Kim did reveal which elements of the deal were most pressing for Krafton, including employee retention. According to Game Developer, around 50 Tango Gameworks employees have been retained from the Microsoft era, which is about half the size that was required for Hi-Fi Rush. Kim says the team will likely grow back to that same number. 

“I think a minimum of 100 people [is what we’re aiming for]. We have to scale it to around that size. That’s a minimum requirement to continue developing the franchise. Or perhaps they’ll need a bigger team. We haven’t decided on that, but we don’t plan to reduce the size of the team at all,” Kim told the website. 

Hi-Fi Rush was critically-acclaimed, but it’s hard to say how well the game actually sold, given the fact that it was a day one release on Xbox Game Pass. Thankfully, sales don’t seem to be a big priority for Krafton’s CEO. Kim told Game Developer that he isn’t expecting Hi-Fi Rush 2 “to make us money.” However, Krafton sees Tango Gameworks as “a team that should be encouraged to create something new and continue their journey. We want to have more teams like that under our umbrella.” Hopefully this means Tango Gameworks will get a much better chance to shine as a result! 

Are you happy that Krafton has kept Tango Gameworks alive? Will you check out the next Hi-Fi Rush? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!