Acclaimed Japanese video game designer Shinji Mikami is leaving the studio he founded over a decade ago. Bethesda, the parent company of Tango Gameworks, confirmed the news through an announcement.
“We can confirm that Shinji Mikami has decided to leave Tango Gameworks in the coming months,” Bethesda said in a Tweet. “We thank him for his work as a creative leader and supportive mentor to young developers on The Evil Within franchise, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and, of course, Hi-Fi RUSH.”
“We wish Mikami-san well in the future and are excited by what lies ahead for the talented developers at Tango.”
It is unclear where Mikami is headed next. The legendary developer has been in the video game industry for 30 years. He is best known for his time at Capcom, particularly on the Resident Evil franchise.
Recently, Shinji Mikami was seen during the first Xbox Developer_Direct, where he introduced Hi-Fi RUSH.
In a 2020 interview with Variety, Mikami may have dropped hints about what’s in store for his future. Recently, he’s allowed younger talent to take a more prominent role at Tango Gameworks. “Basically, I’m just doing troubleshooting whenever there is trouble to shoot,” he said about Kenji Kimura handling more day-to-day duties.
“I am getting old,” Mikami added, “and so it would be more of a matter of how much energy I have.”
