During the 2023 Xbox Developer_Direct, Microsoft and Bethesda Softworks surprised their fans by simultaneously announcing and releasing a game calledHi-Fi Rush. Developed by Tango Gameworks, the first Japanese studio under the Xbox umbrella,Hi-Fi Rushwas a third-person hack-and-slash game with a cartoony aesthetic and a killer soundtrack. Although it shared a lot of similarities with character action games likeDevil May CryandBayonetta,Hi-Fi Rushstood out thanks to its unique, rhythm-based combat mechanics, which rewarded players for attacking enemies to the beat of the music.
Up to this point,Tango Gameworks had almost exclusively made horror games(such asThe Evil Within), so it was entirely unexpected for the company to develop a colorful, cheery title likeHi-Fi Rush. Despite Tango’s inexperience with the genre, though, the game was a critical success.Hi-Fi Rushwas lauded by fans and journalists alike, with many even calling it one of the best Xbox-published games of the last decade. With that said, the game’s success from a commercial perspective was more unclear, as there were various conflicting reports on the matter. IfHi-Fi Rushtruly did do poorly in sales, then perhaps a sequel to the game, if one is ever made, shouldn’t be shadow-dropped.
A Hi-Fi Rush Sequel Shouldn’t Be Shadow-Dropped
Despite Reports to the Contrary, Hi-Fi Rush Seemingly Wasn’t That Successful
Shortly after Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami left Microsoft in February 2023, Bethesda executive Todd Vaughn saidin an internal e-mailsent to Zenimax employees thatHi-Fi Rushwas a bonafide hit. He claimed that the game “was one of the most successful launches for Bethesda and Xbox in recent years” and that it had “generated significant positive momentum for the business and Tango.” About a month later, Microsoft publicly confirmed thatHi-Fi Rushhad garnered more than 2 million players across Xbox Series X/S and PC, the platforms that it had initially launched on. While this wasn’t as massive a release as otherAAA Xbox titles, these numbers still seemed decent for a new, shadow-dropped video game likeHi-Fi Rush.
Like all Microsoft games,Hi-Fi Rushwas available day-one on Xbox Game Pass. Therefore, the 2 million player count for the game doesn’t necessarily indicate that it sold 2 million copies.
The success ofHi-Fi Rushwas brought into question, however, in April 2023, when industry insiderJeff Grubb reported thatHi-Fi Rushhad not made “the money it needed to make.” This claim was quickly refuted by Xbox marketing executive Aaron Greenberg, who said on Twitter thatHi-Fi Rushwas a “break-out hit” for Microsoft in “all key measurements and expectations.” While it did seem like the situation had been settled once and for all, things became even more complicated in May of this year, when Microsoft made the shocking announcement that it was closing Tango Gameworks down, along with three other Bethesda studios.
Tango Gameworks and theHi-Fi RushIP were fortunatelyacquired by South Korean publisher Kraftonin August 2024, but the fact that Microsoft even decided to shutter the studio in the first place suggests that its latest game wasn’t that successful. Indeed,Hi-Fi Rush’s surprise release in 2023 may have been exciting, but the lack of marketing for the game probably hurt its sales a lot. Even when the title came to PlayStation 5 earlier this year, it didn’t seem to set the world on fire.
Hi-Fi Rush 2 Needs to Have a Proper Marketing Campaign
DespiteHi-Fi Rush’s presumably poor commercial performance, a sequel to the game is currently being considered by Krafton and Tango Gameworks. Speaking on the matter, Krafton CEO Changhan Kimtold Game Developera few months ago that he didn’t thinkHi-Fi Rush 2would make the company money, but that he was still interested in the prospect nonetheless. Assuming Tango Gameworks does develop a follow-up to its beloved action game, then it should avoid shadow-dropping the game like it did with its predecessor, as previously mentioned.AHi-Fi Rushsequelneeds all the marketing and promotional campaigns it can get, if Tango and Krafton aim to make it a successful product.
Hi-Fi Rush
WHERE TO PLAY
Feel the beat as wannabe rockstar Chai and his ragtag team of allies rebel against an evil robotics enhancement megacorp with raucous rhythm combat! From Tango Gameworks, the studio that brought you The Evil Within® and Ghostwire®: Tokyo (no, really) comes Hi-Fi RUSH, an all-new action game where the characters, world and combat stylishly sync to the music!CHAI VERSUS THE WORLD: Labeled ‘defective’ after a shady corporate experiment mistakenly fuses a music player to his heart, Chai must now fight for his freedom in a slick animated world where everything – platforming puzzles, enemy attacks and even the colorful gags & banter - are synced to the beat.OPEN UP THE MOSH PIT!: Take on armies of corporate drones (read: actual robots) in satisfying, rhythm-amplified combat. Time your moves to pull off flashy Beat Hits, hard-hitting special abilities and even combination attacks with your allies! Want to show off? Go further and tap into the beat to amp up your skills and earn those covetous S-rank scores.ROWDY REBELS VS. BADASS BOSSES: Lead a squad of colorful teammates and take the fight to the heart of an, er, heartless corporation. Square off with each department’s boss, from Production to Marketing to Finance, each more ready to protect the company’s bottom line than the last in over-the-top battle sequences accompanied by their own music tracks!GRAB YOUR HEADPHONES: Tap your toes to a killer mixtape of original music, as well as songs by Nine Inch Nails, The Prodigy, The Joy Formidable and more! Want to show off your skills to a live streaming audience? Fret not: Hi-Fi RUSH includes a streamer-friendly alternate audio mode which replaces those licensed songs with original tracks made especially for streaming Hi-Fi RUSH.
