Mikami returns to survival horror in Bethesda deal

Fabled Japanese developer Shinji Mikami is working on a survival horror project at his new studio Tango Gameworks.

The game, codenamed Zwei, appears to be at early stages of production.

Heading up the project as executive director, Mikami’s team told Famitsu that the game will incorporate classic survival horror elements.

In 2010, Bethesda Softworks parent company Zenimax Media acquired the Mikami’s Tokyo studio for an undisclosed fee. A month prior to the transaction, Zenimax raised $150m for what it claimed was a “tactical buyout”.

At the time Mikami said it was “refreshing to find a publisher who understands, trusts, and supports the development of blockbuster games and works to make it a collaborative effort”.

Zwei will be the first project Mikami has directed since the 2010 shooter Vanquish, which was published by Sega. Mikami has a garlanded history of survival horror projects, having made a significant contribution to the early Resident Evil games. He is also credited for work on Devil may Cry, Dino Crisis and Viewtiful Joe.