Shinji Mikami, the creator of Resident Evil and the founder of Tango Gameworks, is leaving the company soon according to an email and Tweet from Bethesda.
Tango Gameworks has been responsible for some heavy-hitting titles since hitting game development back in 2010 with The Evil Within franchise, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Hero Dice, and the latest shadow release on Xbox Game Pass, Hi-Fi Rush. The leader of the studio, Shinji Mikami has decided to exit the studio in the coming months according to a Tweet by Bethesda, shared by the company this morning confirming the massive departure.
In an open email shared by True Achievements Senior Vice President of Development at Bethesda, Todd Vaughn said “I am writing today to let you know that studio head Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months,” with “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,” on the huge exit, adding a certain weight to the now vacant Studio Head position.
Mikami, at 57 years old, has been making games for Capcom since 1989. He made the original Resident Evil in 1996 and is responsible for the series’ two primary protagonists, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. After leaving Capcom for PlatinumGames in 2007, he oversaw the development of the third-person shooter Vanquish, which was released on October 20.
After 16 years of working at Capcom, and being responsible for the initial inception of the Resident Evil franchise, Shinji Mikami started Tango Gameworks in 2010, and is an industry veteran with 33+ years of tenure. With the sudden departure announcement, Mikami leaves behind a studio coming off the action rhythm hybrid title, Hi-Fi Rush, a game on the receiving end of a staggering 88% on Metacritic, and with “Universal Acclaim” from individual user ratings.
Although there is no news on what’s next for Shinji Mikami, he will remain at the studio for the “coming months” while the studio transitions from Mikami as Studio Lead. Back in August 2022, Mikami said “I want to create that kind of culture, that’s one of the things I want to do. Even if I retire, I’ll have achieved one goal with Tango Gameworks,” and he seems to have accomplished that with Hi-Fi Rush‘s reception. No news has been given regarding a replacement just yet or on whether this is retirement for the huge developer, so fans will need to stay tuned.
