Shinji Mikami stepped down from Tango Gameworks. Rumors circulated for a few hours before Bethesda confirmed that Mikami would be leaving in the coming months. While no reason was provided for his departure, Bethesda thanked him for his work as a creative lead and a mentor.
Mikami is one of the more recognizable names in gaming. He was the director of both the original Resident Evil and Resident Evil 4, both hugely influential survival horror games that shaped the genre into what it is today. Some of the other more notable titles he directed include Dino Crisis, God Hand and Vanquish.
— Bethesda (@bethesda) February 23, 2023
After these titles, Mikami founded Tango Gameworks in 2010. The developer produced four games to date. However, only one of these was directed by Mikami himself, The Evil Within. Since the release of that game, Mikami spent his time mentoring young developers, passing directorial duties on The Evil Within 2 to John Johanas and guiding former Clover artist Ikumi Nakamura to pitch her own project, Ghostwire Tokyo. Johanas was also the director of Tango’s recent title, Hi-Fi Rush, which got a surprise release during last month’s Xbox Developer Direct.
There is currently no news about what Shinji Mikami plans to do following his departure from Tango Gameworks.