Mikami Joins ZeniMax With Tango Gameworks Acquisition

Just after the launch of his latest project, Vanquish, renowned Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami will become part of the ZeniMax Media family -- the Bethesda Softworks parent has acquired his new Tokyo-based development house, Tango Gameworks. The 20-year industry veteran will still run the multiplatform AAA studio, which he said in March would be his next move after working with Platinum Games on Vanquish. At the time, he said he felt the Japanese business environment as detrimental to young talent, and aimed to found a studio run "from a creator's perspective." Today, he says Maryland-based ZeniMax "understands, trusts, and supports the development of blockbuster games and works to make it a collaborative effort. "The library of AAA franchise titles ZeniMax owns speaks for itself," Mikami adds. "We are very excited to be joining ZeniMax and working with a company that is dedicated to creating the best games ever made." As for ZeniMax, its acquisition of Mikami's Tango Gameworks is the latest in a series of strategic acqusitions; its August purchase of Arx Fatalis developer Arkane Studios came just over a year after it acquired veteran Rage, Doom and Quake house id Software, a major move for growth. This now means the three new buys join Elder Scrolls and Fallout 3 creator Bethesda under the ZeniMax umbrella. Last month ZeniMax said it had raised $150 million in private equity funds to fuel its increasing growth and development, pointing to its track record of assembling powerful franchises and industry talent. "Shinji Mikami has earned a stellar reputation as one of the industry’s finest game developers," says ZeniMax chairman and CEO Robert Altman. "He has repeatedly created hit titles that have earned praise from fans and critics around the world. We share his vision for innovative, genre-defining games and look forward to working with Shinji and his team at Tango." A Capcom employee from 1990 to 2005, Mikami spearheaded major franchises like Resident Evil, Devil May Cry and God Hand, and has since worked with other major Japanese creative figures like Devil May Cry director Hideki Kamiya and Grasshopper Manufacture's Goichi Suda. Bethesda says Mikami's Tango has attracted other key Japanese talent who've held roles on some of these projects.