Resident Evil director and industry legend Shinji Mikami has revealed some of the reasons he left Tango Gameworks, the studio he founded all the way back in 2010.
Mikami departed Tango last year, following the successful launch of the studio's colorful rhythm-character-action game Hi-Fi Rush.
Now, in an appearance on a Japanese talk show (for which we're also using additional reporting by the good folks at Automaton Media), Mikami has divulged his reasoning behind leaving Tango, and it seems the esteemed veteran wanted to spread his wings.
Per Automaton's reporting, Mikami says that he was only CEO at Tango "for 6 months", and that he was "very close to a rank-and-file employee", despite being the original founder of the company.
Mikami goes on to say that he made plans to leave Tango eight years prior to his decision, but felt that he had responsibilities to assist with the studio's ongoing projects. He also says that he wanted to give younger developers and creatives a chance to gain experience.
The second reason for Mikami's departure was, he says, a wish to break out of the survival horror box into which he feels he's been pigeonholed.
He says that existing companies already have established procedures, and so he set up a new studio by the name of Kamuy in order to break out of those procedures and start again from scratch.
Mikami's association with survival horror is, indeed, a strong one. He directed the original Resident Evil and its 2002 remake, as well as 2005's hugely influential Resident Evil 4.
Following these projects, Mikami went on to direct over-the-top action brawler God Hand, as well as Platinum's 2010 shooter Vanquish. He made a return to the survival horror genre with 2014's The Evil Within, serving as a producer on its 2017 followup The Evil Within 2.
It's not clear what Mikami intends to do with Kamuy, as he still hasn't announced the studio's inaugural project yet. One thing's almost certain, though: it probably won't be a survival horror game. Watch this space for more info.
