News Ledge
Search
News Ledge
  • Home
  • Games
  • Gear
  • Movies + TV
    • Netflix New Releases
    • Movies on Netflix
    • Best TV Shows on Netflix
  • Contact
News Ledge Gaming Hi-Fi Rush’s Shadow Launch Isn’t Stopping It From Doing Well
  • Gaming

Hi-Fi Rush’s Shadow Launch Isn’t Stopping It From Doing Well

  • January 30, 2023
  • Alex Chavers
Hi Fi Rush

When the folks at Xbox hosted their developer livestream last week, no one expected a new game to launch. Much less one none of us knew about. With the game finished, Tango Gameworks and Bethesda opted for a shadow drop of their action rhythm combat game.

The reception to Hi-Fi Rush has been overwhelmingly positive from fans and critics. It’s sitting at 88 on Metacritic with a 9.1 user score. A quick look at Steam shows 98% of nearly 4,000 reviews are positive. I played a little bit of it over the weekend, and it’s fantastic. It looks great, sounds incredible, and plays even better. 

And the lack of traditional marketing doesn’t appear to be hurting the game at all. If anything, it’s filling the need for an Xbox exclusive during the current first-party drought. 

The Steam launch of Hi-Fi Rush again shows that launching on Game Pass doesn’t hugely impact sales. Currently, the game sits at #6 on Steam’s top-selling games (by revenue). Here’s how the top 10 shakes out currently (note this is by revenue, so there will be free-to-play games in the list because of microtransactions within them):

  1. Steam Deck
  2. Hogwarts Legacy
  3. Dead Space
  4. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
  5. Destiny 2
  6. Hi-Fi Rush
  7. EA Sports FIFA 23
  8. Valve Index VR Kit
  9. Lost Ark
  10. Red Dead Redemption

It hit the #8 spot for the week, according to SteamDB, beating out recent releases like Forspoken.

Not too shabby for a game with no traditional marketing push. But I doubt we’ll see game releases like this become the norm. First, this dev (Tango Gameworks) isn’t trying to make a name for itself. It was founded by Shinji Miami, who directed the first Resident Evil and Dino Crisis games. Plus, the studio is already known for its The Evil Within series. Not to mention you have its publisher Bethesda and Xbox, which can give it one hell of a marketing push alongside Game Pass.

Shadow drops will always be a thing, but they’ll be pleasant surprises, not the industry norm. 

Hi-Fi Rush hit at the perfect time. We are still a few months out from Bethesda’s Redfall on Xbox’s first-party side of things. And a couple of weeks from the highly anticipated Hogwarts Legacy. A fun action game around a dozen hours long is the perfect one to drop right now. 

It’ll be interesting to see how well the game does on Xbox’s most-played chart. Another recent Game Pass release, High On Life, surged to near the top of the list thanks to being on the service.

Related Topics
  • Hi Fi Rush
  • Tango Gameworks
Alex Chavers

When I’m not playing Rocket League (best game ever), you can find me writing about all things games, space and more. You can reach me at alex@newsledge.com

Previous Article
Warzone 2 armor changes
  • Gaming

How Armor And Plating Will Work in Warzone 2’s Season 2

  • January 27, 2023
  • Alex Chavers
View Post
Next Article
Halo engine switch
  • Gaming

Halo’s Next Game, Codenamed “Tatanka,” Is Switching To Unreal Engine

  • January 31, 2023
  • Alex Chavers
View Post
You May Also Like
PUBG Erangel
View Post
  • Gaming

New PUBG Erangel Update Coming In October

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 21, 2023
Starfield launch numbers
View Post
  • Gaming

Starfield Is Bethesda’s Biggest Launch Ever As It Soars Past Ten Million Players

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 21, 2023
Criterion Games joins Battlefield
View Post
  • Gaming

Next Battlefield Gets Fourth Developer

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 20, 2023
new Xbox Series X
View Post
  • Gaming

Xbox Series X Redesign Coming Next Year, Ditches The Box

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 19, 2023
The Elder Scrolls 6
View Post
  • Gaming

The Elder Scrolls 6 Likely Won’t Release Until 2026, Or Later

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 18, 2023
Link in Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom
View Post
  • Gaming

Nintendo Switch 2’s Power Is Close to Xbox One / PS4 According to Activision Emails

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 18, 2023
Forza Motorsport game pass
View Post
  • Gaming

Starfield Is Out, What’s Next For Game Pass?

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 15, 2023
modern warfare 3 remastered favela
View Post
  • Gaming

Here’s A Look At Nearly All Of Modern Warfare 3 Remastered Maps

  • Alex Chavers
  • September 13, 2023

© News Ledge 2023. All Rights Reserved

Input your search keywords and press Enter.