With the hopes that Tango Gameworks would be bringing fans a third entry in The Evil Within series, things might have become complicated. According to TrueAchievements, Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami will be leaving the studio, which has since been confirmed by Bethesda via Twitter.
In a company-wide email sent to ZeniMax employees, senior vice president of development at Bethesda Todd Vaughn announced Mikami’s upcoming departure from Tango Gameworks. Accord to the email, Tango Gameworks will continue to support Ghostwire: Tokyo and their latest title, Hi-Fi Rush, while Bethesda and Tango leadership decide on the next course of action for the studio.
“I am writing today to let you know that studio head Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months,” Vaughn said. “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.”
No reason has been given for Mikami’s decision to leave Tango Gameworks.
As mentioned, with Mikami leaving Tango Gameworks, the question of what becomes of the future of The Evil Within series is brought into focus, since Mikami was director of the first game, and executive produced the sequel, along with Ghostwire. The famed Survival Horror pioneer has stated before that he’d be open to returning as a director for a new project, but “on his terms”.
— Bethesda (@bethesda) February 23, 2023