Ghostwire: Tokyo developer Tango Gameworks working on non-horror game

What you need to know

• Tango Gameworks is a game studio known for The Evil Within franchise and the upcoming Ghostwire: Tokyo action-adventure title.
• In an interview, Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami revealed the studio is looking to build smaller and non-horror games.
• The Evil Within 2 director John Johanas is currently working on a completely non-horror game for which Mikami is excited.
• Mikami also envisions Tango Gameworks working on multiple simultaneous projects led by smaller teams.

Tango Gameworks, a studio under the Zenimax Media umbrella alongside Bethesda, is most known for its horror-survival The Evil Within series. On Friday, the developer's latest IP, Ghostwire: Tokyo, is launching on PS5 and PC, and still has a little bit of horror in its DNA. According to an interview with Tango Gameworks founder Shinji Mikami, it seems the studio has different plans for its future.

In an interview with Famitsu (transcribed by VGC), Mikami revealed that the future of Tango Gameworks comes with two major changes. For one, the founder wants Tango Gameworks to create more non-horror games and change the studios' reputation for focusing on the terrifying genre.

Of course, it's nice to have fans think of us as a studio with a reputation for developing survival horror games," Mikami admitted. "But we also want to be viewed as a studio that can create a wider variety of games." To this effect, John Johanas, the director of The Evil Within 2, is working on a brand-new game outside the horror genre, for which Mikami is apparently excited. "It's a really good game, so keep your eyes peeled," Mikami exclaimed. Further details on the game were not revealed.

Elsewhere, Mikami expressed his interest in moving away from strictly big-budget "AAA" games from Tango Gameworks, expressing how working exclusively in large teams can make it more difficult to nurture new talent and creativity. Mikami wants the studio to work on multiple simultaneous projects, each of which being led by a smaller, more agile team. Then, these smaller teams can come together to work on larger projects more seamlessly.

"First of all, we should produce a masterpiece every ten years," Mikami explained. "Secondly, we want young people to create new games on their own. We also want to nurture good game creators." Mikami also cited changes in the overall video game industry as reasons it is now possible for Tango Gameworks to shift its focus, "In recent years, commercial considerations have meant that we have had to develop in large teams. However, thanks to the emergence of game subscription services over the past few years, we feel that it is now possible to make games on a smaller scale."

It'll likely be a while before we see Mikami's vision and Tango Gameworks' efforts come to fruition, but it's clear the studio has exciting plans for the future. Ghostwire: Tokyo is right around the corner, and is releasing on PC and PS5. The title may be one of the best PC games due to its environments and art design, but it has received some criticism for its repetitive gameplay and strange narrative pacing.