Industry Insider Jeff Grubb has said on the latest episode of his Game Mess Decides podcast that Hi-Fi Rush “didn’t make the money it needed to make”.
UPDATE – Aaron Greenberg has issued a small statement on Twitter refuting these comments. You can see our coverage here.
Hi-Fi Rush was first announced on January 25, 2023, and released on the same day as a shadow drop. Initially, Tango Gameworks and Bethesda were praised for the huge surprise, but that seemingly hasn’t translated into revenue.
“Based on what I’ve heard, it just straight up didn’t make the money it needed to make”, said Grubb. “It got good reviews, and the buzz was good, so where do you put the blame for something like that?”, he continued.
According to Bethesda, the game reached two million players by March 1, but with a considerable amount of these players likely playing via Game Pass – Grubb’s comments on what he’s heard make a lot of sense.
In late February, director John Johanas said that the game received 10,000 Steam reviews nearly a full month after release. Shadowdropping the game was praised, but a lack of marketing could have negatively impacted its overall sales and reception.
The Game Pass model is a good one and it’s considered one of the best deals in gaming, but understandably it makes it difficult to gauge what is considered a success for Microsoft.
Do you think Hi-Fi Rush was a success? Let us know in the comments below.
Want more Insider Gaming? Check out details on the next Diablo 4 beta coming in May.