The head of Xbox's first party line-up, Matt Booty, has suggested that the company closed Tango Gameworks due to its recent change in leadership. 

Speaking to Variety's Strictly Business podcast – as reported by Eurogamer – the exec was asked whether the Big M had looked to sell the studio rather than just shut it down. Booty didn't answer the question, but did call out Tango's most recent project, Hi-Fi Rush, as being a success for the company. 

The change in leadership appears to be a reference to founder Shinji Mikami leaving the company in 2023. 

"I won't get into the real sort of nitty gritty details on you know, what went into the decision, mostly out of respect for the people there, just because you know, there was a lot of work that went into delivering Hi-Fi Rush, which was a great game and you know did well for us," Booty said.

"I think the thing to be considered is that for us, it's as much a forward looking situation as much as it is looking back at one certain game... There are a lot of things that go into success for a game. You know, what leadership do you have? What creative leadership do you have? Is the team the same team that shipped something successful previously?

"And we have to look at all of those things together and then ask ourselves, are we set up for success going forward? And while there may have been factors and situations that previously led to success, they may not all still be in place as you look at what you're doing going forward."

Microsoft announced it was closing a number of studios, including Tango, earlier this year.