Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony are still reeling from the Helldivers 2 situation. The fans were able to make their voices heard, ensuring the decision to make linking accounts mandatory was not followed through with and eventually taken away.
Review bombing played a big role in sending their message. Several hundred reviews started to populate the Helldivers 2 page, ruining the average rating and sentiment on the game’s Steam page. Now, players are doing the same for Hi-Fi RUSH, but for entirely different reasons!
Fans Use Helldivers 2 Strategy to Save Hi-Fi RUSH
The internet has enabled communities to band together and enact change in the world. We saw this in the review bombing of Helldivers 2, which played a part in Sony going back on its decision. So, when gamers heard about the closure of Tango Gameworks, many people wanted to show their support for their hit 2023 game.
The review bombing of Hi-Fi Rush on Steam right now is wild. pic.twitter.com/2NBKsIhQsB
— Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) May 10, 2024
The closure of the studio is part of an announcement from Xbox made on Tuesday. Fans of Hi-Fi RUSH were further disappointed when it was revealed the studio was pitching a sequel to the game. This has urged fans of the game to show their support for the studio by review-bombing the Steam page, but with positive reviews!
It’s quite clear that fans are not happy with the decision taken by Xbox. Along with Tango Gameworks, Arkane Austin, the developer of Redfall, has also been shut down. However, given the low reviews that the game got at launch, even review bombs wouldn’t save it.
"WE NEED MORE GAMES LIKE HI-FI RUSH"
— 🍉 Gabe 🍉 (@_Ochacon24) May 9, 2024
THEN WHY DID YOU SHUT DOWN TANGO GAMEWORKS? https://t.co/XTwG39kq7z pic.twitter.com/BnZQjEVRLm
But, for Hi-Fi RUSH, even the new negative reviews are targeted at Microsoft’s actions rather than the game.
And you wanna know something funny? even the negative reviews aren't actually negative reviews pic.twitter.com/sf7sYkq3YK
— stonecoldmiracle (@stonecoldmirac1) May 10, 2024
A former project manager at Tango Gameworks also tweeted out the awards the studio had won, asking if that wasn’t enough for Microsoft.
Not enough?#HiFiRush #TangoGameworks pic.twitter.com/3OLhYAPbxU
— KazuakiEgashira (@ega1002) May 9, 2024
The overall sentiment is an appreciation for Tango Gameworks and showing their ire for Microsoft killing off studios that are willing to take risks to deliver new kinds of projects.
Xbox Shutting Down Bethesda Studios to Focus on Big Titles
The shutdown was announced during a town hall event with the ZeniMax team on Tuesday. Matt Booty then shared an email internally that detailed how the resources from the studios will be split among other teams and projects at Xbox. The email also stated that this decision was taken to focus on games that offer larger opportunities for success.
A reason being floated on social media for this decision is the low spending on subscription services over the years. People felt Microsoft’s rapid acquisition of several studios was to help bolster the Game Pass library and encourage people to sign up. The failure of this strategy may have prompted the company to let go of these studios as a way to protect profits.
While fans are showing their support for Tango Gameworks, the fate of the studio ultimately rests in the hands of Microsoft. This is a business decision being taken by the company, and it may not rescind it regardless of how much pushback they receives to protect its revenue.
Do you think Xbox is making the wrong moves with the shutdowns? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
