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[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

Resident Evil director and Hi-Fi Rush producer Shinji Mikami recently commented on his departure from Tango Gameworks and the establishment of his new company Kamuy. Mikami founded Tango Gameworks in 2010 and left it last year, after having been involved in the development of titles such as The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi Rush.

The influential creator recently made a guest appearance on a talk show hosted by Byking, during which he was asked about what led him to leave Tango Gameworks. Mikami responded by clarifying his status within his former company, commenting, “I had only been CEO for 6 months. I think a lot of people were under the impression that I was the representative, but I was very close to a rank-and-file employee. I had “___ producer” attached to my name, but I wasn’t an executive or anything of the sort.”

The same year it was founded, Tango Gameworks encountered financial difficulties and was acquired by ZeniMax Media. This acquisition changed the status of the company, as Mikami comments, “Tango Gameworks is not the name of a company, it’s the name of a department. The name of the company is ZeniMax Asia K.K.” The creator had apparently gone through negotiations to keep the name “Tango Gameworks” and ultimately received permission to preserve it in the form of a brand.

Mikami further reveals that he had planned to leave Tango Gameworks for 8 years before finally doing so, but that the responsibility he felt towards ongoing projects prolonged his stay. As his main motivations for leaving, he mentions wanting to create an environment that would allow young game creators to have more frequent opportunities to gain experience, i.e. an environment with shorter cycles between new projects. At the same time, he felt that there was an audience out there for unique, smaller-scale video games, which led him to see an opportunity to link these two factors.

The second reason Mikami mentions is his personal wish to break free from the survival horror game genre that he has come to be associated with. As existing companies have established styles and workflows, he decided to set up a company from zero to accomplish everything he’s set out to do. This is how the new company Kamuy came to be established.

Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami explains why he left Tango Gameworks and founded Kamuy - AUTOMATON WEST

Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami recently commented on his departure from Tango Gameworks and the establishment of his new company Kamuy.

automaton-media.com

 

[Deft Beck]

So, it was a combination of obligation to the internal teams and feeling constricted with how he was doing things.

 

[vaibhavpisal]

He was a rank and file employee at Tango?

Thats a new one.

Hope he has enough funds to make a few games at his new company.

 

[Punished Miku]

Still not exactly clear honestly. Sounds like he resents having to sell his studio, but that was 14 years ago. I honestly don't see MS dictating that he do anything other than what he wants to do. And he'd have a blank check to make anything he wanted, big or small. I wonder if he didn't want his stuff to be exclusive? Ironic that by the time he's made a game, probably everything from MS is going to be multiplat anyway.

Maybe he's trying to create opportunities for someone by setting up a new company before he retires, so they carry it on. Whoever they is.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

So glad he wants to get away from horror games because The Evil Within was trash. Him and Kamiya should team up once more before they call it quits.

 

[Bring Back Scalebound]

I wasn't expecting him to be a rank and file employee in Tango... That's strange.

Talking about the personal reason he mentioned, I think that's going to be interesting.

Anyone that is aware of P.N.03, God Hand, and Vanquish knows that even though Shinji is known for mostly horror games, he can absolutely kill it in other genres as well. So I look forward to more non-horror games from him.

Also, Thick Thighs Save Lives , I really like your threads.

 

[Zheph]

And he'd have a blank check to make anything he wanted, big or small.

There is no guarantee of that

 

[Punished Miku]

There is no guarantee of that

Sure. But honestly I am like 99.99% sure that would be the case. He's a legendary director leading their only Japanese studio. I don't think there's much evidence of MS telling anyone much of anything to do in any of their studios.

 

[StereoVsn]

Still not exactly clear honestly. Sounds like he resents having to sell his studio, but that was 14 years ago. I honestly don't see MS dictating that he do anything other than what he wants to do. And he'd have a blank check to make anything he wanted, big or small. I wonder if he didn't want his stuff to be exclusive? Ironic that by the time he's made a game, probably everything from MS is going to be multiplat anyway.

Maybe he's trying to create opportunities for someone by setting up a new company before he retires, so they carry it on. Whoever they is.

ZeniMax is a separate subsidiary under Microsoft. So he would still have to follow their direction. It’s not like Phil would show up with unlimited budget IOU.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Sounded like a very muddy response. Tango was his initiative to find new talent and train them, that's how John Johanas rose to the ranks. I think his departure is a lot more about corporate politics than he want to share. I hope his new studio does well, but it's a shame he didn't stay at Tango now that they have established a lot of cool IPs.

 

[Punished Miku]

ZeniMax is a separate subsidiary under Microsoft. So he would still have to follow their direction. It’s not like Phil would show up with unlimited budget IOU.

Yeah, but that can be addressed if its an issue. Real similar situation here.

World of Warcraft Exec Says Microsoft Has 'Let Blizzard Be Blizzard' Since Acquisition - IGN

A World of Warcraft exec says Microsoft has "let Blizzard be Blizzard" since the acquisition went through: “There’s no one asking us to do anything."

www.ign.com

Anyway, it's already a done deal. I just don't really understand him.

 

[tommib]

So glad he wants to get away from horror games because The Evil Within was trash. Him and Kamiya should team up once more before they call it quits.

You’re out of line mister. TEW was my favourite game from the last generation and it’s an absolute classic. Take it back or I’m calling my mother.

 

[ozz ex machina]

Sure. But honestly I am like 99.99% sure that would be the case. He's a legendary director leading their only Japanese studio. I don't think there's much evidence of MS telling anyone much of anything to do in any of their studios.

Microsoft are a public company. At the end of the day the bottom line is all that matters. I like what MS has been doing but it's not out of altruism or a love of videogames. It's a strategy to create revenue. I think the strategy of throwing money at creatives has proven to not work in streaming content and similarly in videogames. I don't think it's that easy.

 

[Mr Hyde]

You’re out of line mister. TEW was my favourite game from the last generation and it’s an absolute classic. Take it back or I’m calling my mother.

Best new horror IP in decades. Loved the second one too. It's a shame we'll probably never get a third outing.

 

[Punished Miku]

Best new horror IP in decades. Loved the second one too. It's a shame we'll probably never get a third outing.

Games just take too long to make. I'd take 1 sequel for Hi-Fi Rush, 1 sequel for Ghostwire. Then new IP again.

I think there's an argument that teams can really hit their stride with an idea on the first sequel after getting the initial work done. But after that, just move on.

 

[ozz ex machina]

Games just take too long to make. I'd take 1 sequel for Hi-Fi Rush, 1 sequel for Ghostwire. Then new IP again.

I think there's an argument that teams can really hit their stride with an idea on the first sequel after getting the initial work done. But after that, just move on.

Games cost too much to make. They are too risk averse. It's much easier greenlighting a sequel than a new ip. Yeah I agree it would be great to get lots more new IPs but that is not going to happen with premium games.

 

[Punished Miku]

Games cost too much to make. They are too risk averse. It's much easier greenlighting a sequel than a new ip. Yeah I agree it would be great to get lots more new IPs but that is not going to happen with premium games.

So don't make them premium. Ghostwire and Hi-Fi Rush are both a manageable size. And they can go even smaller. That's what Mikami is doing from the sound of it.

 

[ozz ex machina]

So don't make them premium. Ghostwire and Hi-Fi Rush are both a manageable size. And they can go even smaller. That's what Mikami is doing from the sound of it.

Yeah there are 100s of indie games like this each year. I don't see the relevance of mikami cranking out similar fare.

 

[Mr Hyde]

Games just take too long to make. I'd take 1 sequel for Hi-Fi Rush, 1 sequel for Ghostwire. Then new IP again.

I think there's an argument that teams can really hit their stride with an idea on the first sequel after getting the initial work done. But after that, just move on.

Yeah it's a bummer how long and expensive the development cycles have become. People probably lose the passion to work on even one game when it's taking several years to get out of the door, let alone a whole trilogy. And in the case of TEW it wasn't even a financial success so even less reason to make another one. But I personally felt it should have been concluded with a final third entry. It was so good and deserved a lot more praise and recognition. It sucks it failed. I don't think Ghostwire did well either to warrant a sequel but I would love one. Game is underrated as hell and the IP definitely has more to offer with a more fleshed out sequel.

 

[Astray]

He was a rank and file employee at Tango?

Thats a new one.

Hope he has enough funds to make a few games at his new company.

I wasn't expecting him to be a rank and file employee in Tango... That's strange.

Talking about the personal reason he mentioned, I think that's going to be interesting.

Anyone that is aware of P.N.03, God Hand, and Vanquish knows that even though Shinji is known for mostly horror games, he can absolutely kill it in other genres as well. So I look forward to more non-horror games from him.

Also, Thick Thighs Save Lives , I really like your threads.

Why is that strange, this is what frequently happens when one sells their company and stays on, they become an employee and not an owner anymore.

Sounds to me like he had a clause that forced him to stay on at Bethesda Asia.

 

[SteadyEvo]

So don’t expect any survival horror from them? I enjoyed The Evil Within. 2? Not so much

 

[Dr_Salt]

It was pretty clear he wanted to do other stuff aside from survival horror. He has said many times he is done with the genre and this is actually good because he is a much better action director anyways.

 

[Werewolf Jones]

You’re out of line mister. TEW was my favourite game from the last generation and it’s an absolute classic. Take it back or I’m calling my mother.

I like 2 but I just don't like the first one.

 

[Jesb]

He probably wanted to leave since it was sold. Like an inevitable departure.

 

[JimmyRustler]

Wanted to break free from horror genre...

... mentioned in an article called "Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami". That's funny right there.
He's 58 years old now. How can one not accept his place at this point? He does/did horror games really well commercially, the rest not. Just do what you're good at.

 

[Ywap]

The first Evil Within is the greatest survival horror game ever made imo. I wish he had continued in the genre

 

[Dr_Salt]

Wanted to break free from horror genre...

... mentioned in an article called "Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami". That's funny right there.
He's 58 years old now. How can one not accept his place at this point? He does/did horror games really well commercially, the rest not. Just do what you're good at.

His action games are far better than his horror games. Also it is pretty clear he doesn't give a shit about money, he just wants to work at what he likes.

 

[nikolino840]

I like 2 but I just don't like the first one.

You don't like the only one with mikami as director so...

 

[Reaseru]

I loved both "The Evil Within". I feel the 2nd is one of the most complete and replayable games of the genre.

But I also felt it had a very disperse story. Specially the part of the story when the little girl stayed a little girl after so many years..

 

[wipeout364]

I agree it’s not totally clear what he is saying. I suspect what he means is that he had no ownership stake in Tango. So he essentially was a paid employee.

The problem is he kind makes it sound like he was a desk jockey coding the gun physics or some small aspect of the game. I think we all know that was not the case.

Anyway good for him for following his dream of starting a small company to do something different with his remaining career. I hope he finds what he is looking for. Mikami has given me a lot of excellent games over the years so I hope he finds success.

 

[SHA]

 

[mckmas8808]

I agree it’s not totally clear what he is saying. I suspect what he means is that he had no ownership stake in Tango. So he essentially was a paid employee.

The problem is he kind makes it sound like he was a desk jockey coding the gun physics or some small aspect of the game. I think we all know that was not the case.

Anyway good for him for following his dream of starting a small company to do something different with his remaining career. I hope he finds what he is looking for. Mikami has given me a lot of excellent games over the years so I hope he finds success.

We know what he was saying. Some just don't want to believe him. He was rank and file in the sense that he didn't have clear decision power.

 

[DonF]

The second reason Mikami mentions is his personal wish to break free from the survival horror game genre that he has come to be associated with.

Shinji Mikami: please dont asociate me with survival horror.

Website: Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami explains why he left Tango Gameworks and founded Kamuy

lol

 

[NeverYouMind]

I loved both "The Evil Within". I feel the 2nd is one of the most complete and replayable games of the genre.

But I also felt it had a very disperse story. Specially the part of the story when the little girl stayed a little girl after so many years..

She aged quite a bit inside the core.

P.S. I think it's tragic that after Resident Evil 4 and his break from Capcom every time a publisher would agree to fund a project he was involved in they would always pull the rug out from under him and add the stipulation that it needed to play like Resident Evil 4 when it came time to make the actual game.

 

[Arachnid]

I genuinely have no interest in any games from him that aren't horror. I hope he finds what he's looking for though.

 

[Calverz]

Good luck to him. Guy is a legend.

 

[wipeout364]

We know what he was saying. Some just don't want to believe him. He was rank and file in the sense that he didn't have clear decision power.

Not sure where you work, but I don’t consider the role of CEO or Producer to be rank and file. Those roles are all about making decisions. It’s just he didn’t have complete control which is fine, but arguing that the CEO of a branch that builds multi million dollar projects is rank and file is a bit of a stretch.

 

[Red Crayon Aristocrat]

He shouldn't have bailed on horror until an Evil Within 3 or at least he should do one more horror game.

 

[BacklashWave534]

So glad he wants to get away from horror games because The Evil Within was trash. Him and Kamiya should team up once more before they call it quits.

Both Evil Within games were great. Maybe a little to scary for you?

 

[MrRenegade]

[AAnderson sends his regards]