Shinji Mikami to develop games for Bethesda, as Zenimax acquires Tango
Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami isn't cooling his jets after completing work on the chaotic sci-fi shooter, Vanquish. Zenimax Media has acquired his Tango Gameworks studio in Tokyo and repositioned it as a division of Zenimax Asia. As creative lead at Tango, Shinji Mikami will oversee development of games for the Bethesda Softworks label.
"It's refreshing to find a publisher who understands, trusts, and supports the development of blockbuster games and works to make it a collaborative effort," Mikami said of the announcement. "The library of AAA franchise titles ZeniMax owns speaks for itself. We are very excited to be joining ZeniMax and working with a company that is dedicated to creating the best games ever made."
Shinji Mikami's games also speak for themselves, usually in gruff and scary voices. In a profile posted on the Tango website, Mikami described his goal as "making games from the viewpoint of the creator," and producing something that would "unify everyone's love of games around the world." With famous Japanese creators like Tomonobu Itagaki, Suda 51 -- and now Shinji Mikami -- forging deals with the likes of THQ, EA and Zenimax, it seems that a strong Western partner is becoming crucial in achieving that.
[Image: Tango Gameworks]
