Krafton CEO Changhan “CH” Kim explained that Microsoft's acquisition of Tango Gameworks was a “last-minute deal.”
Speaking to Game Developer about the acquisition, which will see Krafton Acquires Japanese Studio and Franchise Hi-Fi RushKim said the deal was motivated by creative rather than commercial reasons.
“We wanted to continue their legacy,” Kim says. “Even though they weren’t very successful with their games, we saw a lot of creatives that were worth following. That’s why we wanted to work with that organization.”
Kim says Krafton wanted to “acquire as many people from Tango as possible to continue their legacy,” with the studio having been closed by Microsoft in MayThe South Korean company, best known for developing Role playing gamehe was also quite impressed by Race for high fidelity and sought to acquire the intellectual property to develop sequels.
“Why Race for high fidelity fans really want to see sequels, we have been negotiating with Tango Gameworks' parent company [Microsoft] to acquire that intellectual property as well,” he continues. According to Kim, the sudden closure of Tango Gameworks has left employees “anxious,” which is pushing Krafton to close the deal as quickly as possible.
“We wanted to make sure that the deal happened quickly to minimize that gap in their careers,” he added. Kim said the scale and complexity of a conglomerate like Microsoft made it difficult to move quickly, but noted that the Xbox maker was “open” to selling both the studio and its IP.
Because Krafton felt the move was urgent, the company focused on purchasing the Hi-Fi Rush franchise rather than Tango's entire catalog of intellectual property, which also includes The Evil Within and Ghostwire Tokyo.
“If we were to acquire all the IP, I think it would complicate the deal too much. Krafton is a pretty big company, but Microsoft is very complicated,” he says. “We wanted to help the team continue to develop their games, but more importantly Race for high fidelityWhen I think about our fans, I think what they really care about is Race for high fidelity sequel.”
The acquisition is still being finalized, preventing Kim from revealing how much Krafton spent on the Japanese studio. He did, however, describe the purchase as “not too expensive, not too cheap.”
“We can't really translate volume into money. It's more about significance,” he adds. “The dollar amount wasn't really important to Microsoft.”
It was previously reported by Game File that Krafton has brought over 50 employees from Tango Gameworks, representing about half of the development team as it existed under Microsoft. The goal now is to help the studio scale and perhaps even expand.
“I think at least 100 people [is what we’re aiming for]. We need to scale it down to about that size. It’s a minimum requirement to continue developing the franchise. Or maybe they’ll need a bigger team. We haven’t decided yet, but we don’t plan to reduce the size of the team,” Kim says.
“They also have to work on new projects, so it is very likely that the team will grow further.”
Krafton boss hopes to acquire more studios like Tango Gameworks
As for Krafton's expectations for the studio, Kim hopes to support creativity without fear of failure. He says Krafton will be committed to taking risks to produce titles that feel innovative rather than derivative. “We're looking to expand our portfolio and Tango Gameworks comes into play [there],” he says, noting that many of Tango's previous games “may not have even broken even.”
“We can't buy Tango Gameworks based on their financials or their numbers, right? We don't think Hi-Fi Rush 2 is going to make us any money, to be honest,” he continues. “But it's part of our attempt. We have to keep trying. [to develop games] in the spirit of challenge.
“Tango Gameworks is creative. They want to try something new and we want to do more of that. [Making] video games are a really uncertain industry and that means taking risks. But having multiple projects in the pipeline is actually a way of mitigating risk, because one of them might work out.”
When pressed on the question of whether Race to high fidelity was a commercial success for Microsoft, Kim says he doesn't know exactly how much the game earned, but considering the production costs he believes it may not have produced a substantial return.
“Did it make Microsoft a lot of money? It might not,” he says. “I'm not saying I know how much they made, that's just my guess. But the intellectual property itself was very fresh. [and featured] new types of gameplay. I know it's not a game that many studios were making, and we need to keep trying [that approach].”
Kim suggests that companies like Krafton shouldn’t aspire to deliver an endless procession of chart-topping hits, largely because that’s an incredibly unrealistic goal. Instead, he believes the goal should be to “break even” while cultivating creativity.
“Just recoup the production costs, please, is what I say. But that in itself is a pretty big challenge. If you try, you might actually be a big hit. I don't trust people who say, 'Oh, this is going to be a hit.' I want someone who can try something new,” he says.
“The big hit should not be your goal. If you think that way, Race to high fidelity It may have brought a little financial disadvantage, but it is a team that should be encouraged to create something new and continue its journey. We want to have more teams like this under our wing.”