After the terrible news in May about Microsoft’s decision to close a bunch of studios, we finally got a rare bit of good news for the gaming industry in 2024, as PUBG publisher Krafton suddenly acquired the studio and the Hi-Fi Rush IP.
Now, speaking to Game Developers about the reasons behind this “last-minute deal”, Krafton CEO Changhan ‘CH’ Kim paints an interesting picture, arguing that it’s not about taking over a series and studio that the publisher is sure can bring in significant profits, but rather about adding more creativity to its portfolio so that it’s better suited to hit home runs on the development front.
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“We wanted to carry on their legacy,” King said of the Tango acquisition. “Even though their games weren’t hugely successful, we saw a lot of ideas worth pursuing. That’s why we wanted to work with the organization.” “Because fans of Hi-Fi Rush were eager to see a sequel, we negotiated with Tango Gameworks’ parent company to acquire the IP,” he added.
The CEO publicly stated that some of Tango’s previous games “may not even break even” and that the deal to acquire the game was “not too expensive, not too cheap,” and said that “trying to increase our product line” was one of the reasons why Krafton was working hard to acquire the studio.
“We can’t buy Tango Gameworks just based on their financials or numbers, right? Frankly speaking, we don’t think Hi-Fi Rush 2 can make money for us,” Kim said. “But this is part of our attempt. We have to keep working hard in the spirit of accepting challenges.” Tango Gameworks [is] Creativity. They want to try new things, and we want to do more of that. [Making] Video games are really a hit-or-miss business, and that’s the risk. But having a larger lineup of projects is actually a way to reduce risk because one of them might be a hit.”
“The IP itself is very fresh [and featured] New game genres. I know this isn’t something that a lot of studios are making, we have to keep trying [that approach]” He continued, “I would just say, please make your production back. But that in itself is quite a challenge. If you try this, you might actually have a huge success. I don’t trust people who say, ‘Oh, this is going to be a big hit.’ I want someone who can try new things.”
Try to realize your dreams by being creative, rather than tying every game to the obligation of making a profit for the publisher, as long as it doesn’t lose money. In theory, this is certainly an admirable approach, even if Krafton publicly admits that it has just acquired a product that it is not 100% sure will make money in the near future. These are strange words coming from a major CEO, especially in 2024.
What do you think of Kim’s approach? Would you buy a Hi-Fi Rush sequel? Let us know below!
