As fans continue to wait for the release of Ghostwire: Tokyo from Tango Gameworks, studio founder Shinji Mikami has revealed another new title is already in the works, and it's being led by Evil Within 2's director.
Mikami appeared in a video with Xbox head Phil Spencer as part of Microsoft's livestream event during the first day of Tokyo Game Show and hinted at a new title, saying that John Johanas, the director of The Evil Within 2, is working on it.
Mikami mentioned Johanas when prodded by Spencer to talk about the Tango Gameworks’ philosophy of fostering young new talent: "Right now John is in the middle of working energetically on a new game," Mikami told Spencer.
Mikami did not drop any further hints on what type of game Johanas may be working on. Due to Microsoft's purchase of Bethesda Softworks' parent company, ZeniMax Media, and its studios last year, it's likely whatever title Johanas is hard at work on is being developed with Xbox platforms in mind.
Johanas has been with Tango Gameworks since August 2010 and was the visual effects designer for the 2014 survival horror title The Evil Within. Johanas served as director for the game's two DLC offerings.
He then took the torch from Mikami and directed The Evil Within 2. Shouldering both the pressure of building upon the franchise and taking the reins from a survival horror legend in Mikami, Johanas helped deliver an experience that garnered mostly positive responses from critics and players when it was released in 2017.
Mikami has mentioned in past interviews that part of the reason he tapped Johanas to helm The Evil Within 2 was because the veteran game designer views Tango Gameworks as a place to nurture talent and give young creatives a chance to spread their wings and succeed.
Mikami has had a long career in the business and has been paying it forward by providing opportunities to young talents like Johanas and giving them the space and freedom to create and come up with new ideas.
Spencer alluded to that as well during their TGS chat: “One of the things you and I have talked about is the importance of young people in our industry, bringing new voices onto our creative teams, and hearing from a new generation of creators,” said Spencer.
Rather than having young creatives wait for their turn, Mikami gives some of them a chance and the space to create by providing opportunities sooner rather than later. He mentioned that philosophy again during his talk with Spencer during the TGS presentation: "As a studio that tries to give young people big opportunities, we're always taking on the challenge of creating new games."
Spencer asked Mikami about the young talent within his studio and in addition to singling out Johanas, Mikami also mentioned Kenji Kimura, the director for the upcoming GhostWire: Tokyo. "He is a young creator who is working hard and doing his best as a director," Mikami said. "He really has a lot of ability."
Ikumi Nakamura is another example. Nakamura joined Mikami at Tango Gameworks in 2010 and worked on both The Evil Within and its sequel. Her energetic presentation at E3 2019 as part of the Ghostwire: Tokyo team went viral on social media. Nakamura has since left the company and heads her own independent studio.
While Johanas' project will likely remain under wraps for a while, Ghostwire: Tokyo, which Kimura is at the helm of, experienced a delay and is scheduled to be released for the PlayStation 5, where it will be a limited console exclusive, and PC in 2022.
Jason Coskrey is a writer based in Tokyo. Find him on Twitter at @JCoskrey.