The acquisition of Bethesda by Microsoft has made the status of several studios very confusing. One example beingTango Gameworks, the developer ofThe Evil Withinand upcoming action-adventure gameGhostwire: Tokyo. As part of Xbox’s plans for the Tokyo Game Show online convention, however,Tango Gameworks' executive producer Shinji Mikami has shed some light on what Tango Gameworks, and specifically the game director ofThe Evil Within 2, are up to next.
The Evil Within 2’s director is named John Johanas, who took over the series from legendaryResident Evilcreator Mikamiwho shifted to a focus on production. Since 2017, whenThe Evil Within 2was released, it wasn’t clear what Johanas was working on next. Given Mikami’s comments about giving new creators opportunities to direct at Tango Gameworks, it wasn’t even clear if Johanas would continue directing. Now, however, Mikami is confirming that Johanas has a new product in development.
RELATED:PS5 Exclusive Ghostwire: Tokyo Release Date Delayed
Speaking at TGS, Mikami was promoted byXbox boss Phil Spencerto talk about what Johanas was currently working on. Mikami followed through by saying that Johanas is currently “energetically” working on a new game. Neither Mikami nor Spencer unfortunately follow through on the tease with any more information. All that they confirm is that Tango Gameworks has another game in development being worked on byThe Evil Within 2’s game director.
It’s not necessarily a surprise that Tango Gameworks and Johanas have a new project being worked on. Tango Gameworks is currently moving close to the end ofGhostwire: Tokyo’s development, as it’s currently scheduled for 2022 after a delay from late 2021. AsGhostwire: Tokyo’s developmentspins down, resources will be shifted to other projects at Tango Gameworks. Now fans know of one potential destination for those resources within the company.
While Mikami and Spencer didn’t provide any further details on the in-development project, fans are free to speculate. Given that Johanas was gifted theEvil Withinfranchise from Mikami, the most likely betting option is that it’sThe Evil Within 3. Of course, Mikami also likes original horror game ideas, so it could be a new IP, too.
Without more information, Tango Gameworks' next project really could be anything. It may even be anon-horror project, as unlikely as that its. The demand from Tango Gameworks is certainly that it’s working on something incredibly frightening, though. That’s certainly the audience it’s built with the two games in theEvil Withinseries. And Xbox very likely would love its own horror game franchise, too.
