Hi-Fi Rush Was Pitched in 2017 After The Evil Within 2 – Director

Tango Gameworks has been making waves after it released Hi-Fi Rush, a character action game with a bombastic art style and rhythm-based combat, for Xbox Series X/S and PC. Not only did it chart eighth in Steam’s Global Top Sellers for the week, but it surpassed the likes of Forspoken despite being cheaper and also on Game Pass.

Of course, the real question is: How long was Hi-Fi Rush in development? Tango Gameworks released Ghostwire: Tokyo in 2022, after all. Director John Johanas revealed on a recent Xbox Plays livestream with TheMavShow that the idea was pitched in 2017 after he finished work on The Evil Within 2. Though initially hesitant since the team had worked on a horror series, Johanas described it as “one of those dream games” and ultimately went ahead.

Even if development started in the next year or two, this means Hi-Fi Rush was in the works long before Xbox acquired Bethesda. Nevertheless, it fits Game Pass quite well and ushers in a new strategy by Microsoft to announce and launch games for the service on the same day. For more details on the title’s development, check out the stream here.

Hi-Fi Rush was John Johanas' dream game, he pitched the idea in 2017 after finishing work on The Evil Within 2.

The game was in the works even before Gamepass and the Microsoft acquisition! But it worked out very well in the end. pic.twitter.com/kj6wHulWLI

— Bring Peanut Butter (@Dreamboum) January 27, 2023