Mikami said that his first game for Tango would be the last he would direct himself, in part to create opportunities for others.
"I can only last for so long handling both director and company president duties, and besides, I want to give our younger developers a chance," he said. "Knowing that, of course, makes me want to put all of my experience, my energy and everything else I've got into this game. I'm pretty lucky that [Bethesda] was willing to accept that, too. Too many publishers are only interested in the very near future, after all."
Those comments led to reports online of Mikami planning to retire as a director, which he says didn't go over well with higher-ups at Bethesda and may not end up being true.
"I probably shouldn't have said that," says Mikami. "My bosses were pretty upset. That was something I decided before I started Tango, that the next project would be my last. ... I was thinking back then that I would have to spend more time managing the studio and training people rather than directing. But now because Tango is part of Bethesda, I have less management overhead. So I have more time to get involved with a game than I originally thought I would."
At this point, Mikami says he doesn't know who will direct Tango's next game. It might be him. It might be someone else at Tango. In his interview answers, he bounces back and forth between his desires to lead projects and to give team members chances to lead their own.
