The stealth release of Hi-Fi Rush was so big, the higher ups at Microsoft may not have known about it. While we’re sure certain Xbox bigwigs like Phil Spencer were aware of the game’s existence, the lack of leaks shows it’s existence was kept close to the vest.
Hi-Fi Rush director John Johanas spoke with GamesRadar about the game’s “incredibly scary” reveal. Johanas admits that keeping this title a secret was a frustrating and complicated matter, as they worried about the game getting leaked before it’s big reveal.
Continuing on, Johanas gives credit to everyone who worked on the game, since it ended up being a huge secret. In fact, Johanas suspects that the rhythm-based brawler wasn’t known to a good number of folks at Microsoft.
"I have to give credit to everyone who worked on this project," Johanas said. "I think it was incredibly professional in that they respected the project enough not to talk about it to the wrong people … I'm sure there's tons of people at Microsoft who were watching the presentation and saying 'There's another game in this thing?'"
Pretty much everyone was caught offguard by Hi-Fi Rush, as it quickly became the most successful Xbox exclusive in years. Many fans and critics gravitated towards the Dreamcast-era aesthetic, while also praising the fun gameplay.
The fact that it came from Tango Gameworks is an even bigger surprise, given the company’s history with horror titles. Before Hi-Fi Rush became a hit, we saw Tango Gameworks release Ghostwire: Tokyo and The Evil Within 2. While both games are solid enough for what they are, neither title made the same impact as their energetic brawler.
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We haven’t seen confidence in a game like that in a long time, even if a lot of people in Microsoft didn’t know about its existence. Fans can enjoy Hi-Fi Rush right now on Xbox Series and PC.