"I Should Get to Work": The Evil Within's Shinji Mikami Teases Return

Following the expiration of a non-competition contract, Mikami seems eager to re-enter the world of game development.

Shinji Mikami, the legendary Game Designer, founder of Tango Gameworks, and the creative mind behind games like The Evil Within, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Hi-Fi RUSH, recently took to Twitter, seemingly announcing the expiration of the non-competition clause in his contract and teasing his return to the world of game development.

For those unaware, Mikami began his game development career at Capcom in 1990, where he contributed to many of the company's most successful titles, including the Resident Evil franchise and the first Dino Crisis installment.

In 2010, while working at PlatinumGames, Mikami directed the third-person shooter Vanquish. That same year, he founded Tango Gameworks, which he later sold to Bethesda's parent company, ZeniMax Media. Within Tango Gameworks, he directed The Evil Within and its 2017 sequel, as well as served as an executive producer on Ghostwire: Tokyo and Hi-Fi RUSH.

Earlier this year, Mikami stepped down from the studio he himself established after serving as its CEO for 12 years. Following his departure, he was bound by a contract preventing him from engaging in game development, a restriction that now appears to have lapsed. "Now that I've broken the spell of non-competition on myself, I guess I should get to work," wrote Mikami on Twitter.

As of now, it's uncertain which projects Mikami intends to pursue in the future. Prior to his departure from Tango, the developer had voiced a desire to shift his focus towards smaller games and explore realms beyond the survival horror genre.

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Published 13 October 2023
Theodore McKenzie
Head of Content