Tango Gameworks founder and CEO Shinji Mikami is set to leave the studio after more than 12 years with the developer.
In a company-wide email sent to ZeniMax employees that was seen by TrueAchievements and validated by Bethesda, Bethesda’s SVP of Development Todd Vaughn announced that legendary game designer Shinji Mikami will be leaving Tango Gameworks at Xbox Game Studios.
Resident Evil creator Senji Mikami is leaving Tango Gameworks
“I’m writing today to let you know that studio head Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months,” said Vaughn. “Mikami-san has been a creative leader and supportive mentor to young developers at Tango for 12 years through his work on the Evil Within franchise, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and of course, Hi-Fi Rush.”
Tango Gameworks will continue to support Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush while senior officials at Bethesda work with Tango’s leadership on what comes next for the studio.
With a career spanning 33 years, Mikami has one of the most impressive resumes in the industry and is credited with creating the original Resident Evil and working on several games within the franchise up until Resident Evil 4. Over the years, he has also worked on other notable games such as Dino Crisis, Viewtiful Joe, and Vanquish.
Mikami founded Tango Gameworks in early 2010, and it was acquired by ZeniMax later that year. He went on to release the survival horror game The Evil Within in 2014 and the sequel The Evil Within 2 three years later in 2017. Most recently, Mikami served as an executive producer on Ghostwire: Tokyo and the Game Pass hit Hi-Fi Rush.
In the email, Vaughn called Hi-Fi Rush “one of the most successful launches for Bethesda and Xbox in recent years,” adding that the rhythm-based action game “generated huge positive momentum for Business and Tango.”
Confirming the email’s veracity, Bethesda issued a statement to TA reiterating the email, adding, “We wish Mikami-san the best for the future and are excited about what lies ahead for the talented developers at Tango.”
What are your thoughts on Shinji Mikami leaving Tango Gameworks? Let us know in the comments.
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