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Krafton CEO Changhan 'CH' Kim has explained the acquisition of Tango Gameworks from Microsoft was a "last minute deal."

Speaking to Game Developer about the buyout, which will see Krafton acquire the Japanese studio and Hi-Fi Rush franchise, Kim said the deal was creatively rather than commercially motivated.

"We wanted to maintain their legacy," says Kim. "Although they did not have a big success in their games, we saw many creatives worth pursuing. That's why we wanted to work with that organization."

Kim says Krafton wanted to "acquire as many people as possible from Tango to continue their legacy," with the studio having been shuttered by Microsoft in May. The South Korean company, best known for developing PUBG, was also rather smitten with Hi-Fi Rush and sought to acquire the IP to develop sequels.

"Because Hi-Fi Rush fans really want to see sequels, we negotiated with Tango Gameworks' parent company [Microsoft] to acquire that IP as well," he continues. According to Kim, the sudden shutdown of Tango Gameworks left employees "anxious," which is pushing Krafton to complete the deal as soon as possible.

"We wanted to make sure the deal happen fast to minimize that gap in their career," he adds. Kim says the scale and complexity of a conglomerate like Microsoft meant it was difficult to move quickly, but noted the Xbox maker was "open" to the sale of both the studio and its IP.

Given Krafton felt the move was time sensitive, the company focused on purchasing the Hi-Fi Rush franchise as opposed to Tango's entire IP slate–which also includes The Evil Within and 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,"

he says.

"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."

 

[GrayChild]

Man, if only they managed to get The Evil Within... Such a waste of a brilliant and underrated IP.

 

[Mister Wolf]

I appreciate them saving Tango. Hi Fi Rush 2 will be a day one purchase guaranteed.

 

[Cornbread78]

South Korea is really stepping up their gaming presence on consoles & I love it.

 

[Punished Miku]

Pretty crazy to say they don't think it's going to make money. Sounds like everyone lucked out; gamers and employees. The real motivation is likely going to be what they work on after Hi-Fi Rush 2.

 

[llLeonhart]

Man, if only they managed to get The Evil Within... Such a waste of a brilliant and underrated IP.

Tell me about it, the first one was janky as hell but it was such a breath of fresh air.

Second one is pretty damn good.

 

[Reaseru]

Talks about legacy, but bought the studio with the only IP they don't know if it actually sells or not.

 

[Duchess]

Still waiting to see if the promised physical edition for PS5 is going to drop.

 

[Moriarty1889]

It should because PS5 owners will at least buy and support their game.

 

[Punished Miku]

Talks about legacy, but bought the studio with the only IP they don't know if it actually sells or not.

I think he means Capcom development legacy. Just the fact that they're talented and have experience. That can't be replicated overnight, no matter how much money you have.

But yeah, the IP after Hi-Fi Rush 2 could be anything. They spent big money on Callisto Protocol also, so it could be tied to PUBG for all we know.

 

[Tsaki]

Yeah, sure Jan. They will close the studio if it loses them money. But it'll probably sell. Whenever it releases it will be on Xbox Series, PS5, PC, Switch 2 and maybe next gen consoles and the online discourse has already made sure that many already know this game is coming, in comparison with the first one which pretty much had 0 marketing. All they have to do now is make it good.

 

[intheinbetween]

Pretty crazy to say they don't think it's going to make money. Sounds like everyone lucked out; gamers and employees. The real motivation is likely going to be what they work on after Hi-Fi Rush 2.

I don't think it's crazy to think that. Part of the success of HFR comes from Game Pass since it made it possible to subscribers to try it before pulling the trigger, very few people would've bought that if it wasn't for the exposure Game Pass offered, and I am one of those gamers rooting for a sequel, but honestly sales wise I doubt it would make money.

 

[adamsapple]

Today: The goodwill PR
Post-release: We'll see.

 

[AJUMP23]

I think they are right, they can look at the player base and know only a percentage will pay for another experience. I enjoyed HiFi Rush, but I doubt I would pay more the $20 for it.

 

[Punished Miku]

I don't think it's crazy to think that. Part of the success of HFR comes from Game Pass since it made it possible to subscribers to try it before pulling the trigger, very few people would've bought that if it wasn't for the exposure Game Pass offered, and I am one of those gamers rooting for a sequel, but honestly sales wise I doubt it would make money.

What I meant is, it's crazy that he thinks that. I know MS thought that, but one could assume he was at least under the impression that the sequel would do better. He doesn't even seem to think so and is almost saying it's a charity purchase. I'll take it, but it's just surprising. They clearly have something else in mind after Hi-Fi Rush 2 and are just taking a shot on the game because they're fans of it and know the team wants to make it. Pretty cool.

 

[hemo memo]

Hi-fi rush 2 I promise I will be there day 1

 

[Porcile]

Ehhhh I think it will just end up being a skeleton crew to handle future ports and whatever else they want to do with the IP like merchandising etc. Similar to a Treasure situation. Highly doubt they will produce any new games.

 

[intheinbetween]

What I meant is, it's crazy that he thinks that. I know MS thought that, but one could assume he was at least under the impression that the sequel would do better. He doesn't even seem to think so and is almost saying it's a charity purchase. I'll take it, but it's just surprising. They clearly have something else in mind after Hi-Fi Rush 2 and are just taking a shot on the game because they're fans of it and know the team wants to make it. Pretty cool.

I understand, however to me it seems that there is more love toward HFR than sales. We still don't know how it did sales wise across all the platforms, and honestly I don't think it did good. Should a sequel do better? Well I don't know, but depending on their budget it would be possible to make it even or slightly above, but IF the budget is medium-high then it will be really hard for them to make money.

For sure it's strange a company acquires a studio for altruism (for the fans), this was just an investment for growth, and if they didn't purchase any other IP probably it's because it was out of their reach (e.g: TEW), or simply because MS wanted to keep it. According to the statements they purchased Tango because of their legacy, or what's left of their team, and acquiring HFR was something they added eventually but it wasn't their main goal, so I understand they paid very little to MS for Tango and the HFR ip.

Time will tell, and I hope we get more entries in the HFR universe, but they will have to find ways to make the IP profitable since focusing on digital and physical sales won't be enough, they will probably look for partnership for gaming services, but that's up to them.

 

[Hookshot]

Did this really sell so badly that it warranted a studio closure and sell off of the IP? I thought it was liked and well received.

 

[intheinbetween]

Did this really sell so badly that it warranted a studio closure and sell off of the IP? I thought it was liked and well received.

Probably by a niche of players, not mainstream.

 

[The_hunter]

HFR is so good

 

[Hookshot]

Probably by a niche of players, not mainstream.

But that's how somethings get started. Even Fortnite wasn't the current juggernaut that is Fortnite when it began.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Did this really sell so badly that it warranted a studio closure and sell off of the IP? I thought it was liked and well received.

It seems to have developed a cult following similar to Gravity Rush, But not big enough to keep it going beyond a game or 2.

 

[intheinbetween]

But that's how somethings get started. Even Fortnite wasn't the current juggernaut that is Fortnite when it began.

Fortnite and HFR have very little in common.

 

[Hookshot]

Fortnite and HFR have very little in common.

I know but a quick google says 2 million people played it, now that includes Gamepass which muddies it, but the first Luigi's Mansion did 3 mil. Luigi's mansion 3 is up to 14 million. We will never know if HFR 3 could have had similar trajectory given the chance and Microsoft's backing.

 

[Reizo Ryuu]

Easiest day 1 of all time.

 

[intheinbetween]

I know but a quick google says 2 million people played it, now that includes Gamepass which muddies it, but the first Luigi's Mansion did 3 mil. Luigi's mansion 3 is up to 14 million. We will never know if HFR 3 could have had similar trajectory given the chance and Microsoft's backing.

Yep but Fortnite was born as a multiplayer game, and over the time it adapted to what the market and the mainstream players were interested into, so Epic managed to make it a successful GaaS title after putting a lot of investment and effort into it. HFR is a 3rd person hack n' slash rhythm based single player title with no multiplayer mode.

 

[oldergamer]

about legacy? many of the original people that started the studio left before the shutdown. I don't think this is going to pan out how they think it will

 

[SEGAvangelist]

Not a good start.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

Today: The goodwill PR
Post-release: We'll see.

The Xbox motto.

 

[El Muerto]

Hifi Rush 2 - Day one
Evil Within 3 - Day one
Ghostwire Tokyo - Day ichiban
C'mon Krafton, do it.

 

[Thebonehead]

Just wait until the shareholders read that it won't be making money.

Hifi rush 2 will be cancelled quicker than a bulk pager order in Lebanon.

 

[intheinbetween]

Hifi Rush 2 - Day one
Evil Within 3 - Day one
Ghostwire Tokyo - Day ichiban
C'mon Krafton, do it.

They only own the Hifi Rush IP

 

[Banjo64]

Wonder if they can remove Hi-Fi from Game Pass.

 

[Magic Carpet]

Wonder if they can remove Hi-Fi from Game Pass.

Then my dream of an 808 shaped Series X will never happen.

 

[Punished Miku]

Wonder if they can remove Hi-Fi from Game Pass.

They already clarified that nothing is changing on that front.

 

[Hohenheim]

Sometimes it's perhaps better to say nothing.

 

[DeepEnigma]

I've been saying, western devs better wake up, and wake up soon. The east is going to run right through them.

 

[yurinka]

Good

 

[Puscifer]

It should because PS5 owners will at least buy and support their game.

I'm still trying to figure out Microsoft is doing with hundreds of millions monthly of GP subscribers money. In my opinion the idea of Gamepass is that it should eliminate risk and let developers be free to make stuff like Hi Fi Rush.

But then again, licensing those games and royalties, by whatever metric, and infrastructure isn't t free.

 

[Gambit2483]

Hopefully that Switch 2 port is real so they can see the true sales potential of this game.

 

[Miyazaki’s Slave]

Shitty pessimistic take...this is just media pandering and setting up a "wave of good will" when they try early access or crowd funding.