REDMOND, Wash. — Tango Gameworks’ shuttering has been reversed after Krafton CEO, Changhan Kim, found the game studio in a dumpster behind Microsoft’s headquarters. Kim discovered the recently tossed out game developer while doing his monthly dumpster dive of competing publishers.
“Look at this, they just threw out the entire studio. It’s still got that up-and-coming studio smell,” Kim said as he pulled another coder from the dumpster. “Wow, a full set of coders. You clean these up and get them fed and you can easily get another twenty to thirty years out of them. Holy crap—there’s a brand-new game designer in here. He’s still got his HR training folder and everything.”
Kim’s search lasted hours as he pulled Tango Gameworks out piece-by-piece. Kim’s efforts yielded an entire Q/A department, an assortment of audio and visual artists, and “Hi-Fi Rush” Lead Director, John Johanas, the latter of which left Kim a bit disappointed.
“This John Johanas is like new, but I can’t use him if I don’t have the IP,” Kim said, dusting a banana peel off Johanas’ head. “I see it all too often with these publishers. They extract the IP from these little shops before discarding them. It sucks ‘Hi-Fi Rush’ isn’t out here, but a free studio is a free studio. I can find something for them to work on in the PUBG Extended Universe.”
Kim’s prolonged search eventually attracted the attention of Xbox administrators, who were not too keen on competition digging through their trash. CEO of Microsoft Gaming, Phil Spencer, approached the impromptu treasure hunt with heated words for Kim.
“You can’t just steal our trash for nothing,” Spencer said, wearing a “Hi-Fi Rush” t-shirt as he approached the dumpster. “If you really want this studio, make me an offer that rocks my Voodoo Vince socks. Make it a sweet enough offer and I might be nice enough to throw in an IP or two. Just remember, this is an up-and-coming studio with a high trajectory. ‘Hi-Fi Rush’ was a breakout hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations. We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release. So, how much are they worth to you?”
At press time, Kim had turned his attention to the dumpsters at Sony’s campus, hoping to scrounge up some near-mint Bungie concept artists.
