Hi-Fi Rush: Matt Booty says Microsoft still has appetite for such games

Xbox head says he want to give teams a creative platform to go and push their ability, push their aspirations
An undated image shows the preview of Hi-Fi Rush. — XBox
An undated image shows the preview of Hi-Fi Rush. — XBox

Following after the announcement Microsoft made to pull the plug on four of its games studios, Matt Booty, head of Xbox Game Studios, said, “We need smaller games that give us prestige and awards.”

There's no doubt that this news would flabbergast aficionados that Microsoft shut down Tango Gameworks, the Japanese developer that was up to the development of a break out hit title Hi-Fi Rush that was at its peak. 

Released out of the blue last year, Hi-Fi Rush was globally acclaimed for its innovative approach, rushing to hold a user base of 3 million players in just four months. All of these feats contributed to the game grabbing a Game Award, a Game Developers Choice award, and a BAFTA during the 2023–2024 awards season.

Read more: Free Lego Star Wars game available for Amazon Prime members

“I want to give the teams the creative platform to go and push their ability, push their aspirations,” Xbox head Phil Spencer said.

Considering all the publicly available insights about Hi-Fi Rush, it appears that the Redmond-based firm was satisfied with Hi-Fi Rush's performance, as reported by The Verge.

Meanwhile, the time when the gaming sphere was buzzing with rumours that it wasn’t doing well in financial measures, Aaron Greenberg, vice president of Xbox games marketing, wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that Hi-Fi Rush “was a break out hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations.”

While it's not clear what objectives Microsoft had for Hi-Fi Rush, there's a clear indication that it still possess appetite for this sort of games, owing to their rising demand of a small, creatively unique, highly praised, award-winning game like Hi-Fi Rush.

Hi-Fi rush free download

Available to be downloaded for free, Hi-Fi was a superhit in terms of all the factors considered to assess how well a game is doing, and something that stood out among whatever Tango Gameworks produced before.