Xbox executives just cannot give a straight answer to questions about Tango Gameworks

pcgamer.com:

Earlier this year Microsoft announced the closure of four major studios on the same day, among which number was the Tokyo-based developer Tango Gameworks. Founded in 2010 by industry legend Shinji Mikami, best-known for creating Resident Evil, the studio developed the (excellent) Evil Within games as part of an eclectic output, with its most recent release the well-received rhythm beat-em-up Hi-Fi Rush. 

Tango's games were generally well-liked, and indeed Xbox executive Aaron Greenberg called the launch of Hi-Fi Rush (which was announced and released on GamePass on the same day) «a breakout hit for us and our players in all key measurements and expectations [...] We couldn’t be happier with what the team at Tango Gameworks delivered with this surprise release.» In that context especially the closure felt like an absolutely brutal decision, one that left peers bemoaning that making a good game that sells well "will no longer keep you safe in this industry."

For whatever reason, Tango Gameworks has become the particular focal point of these studio closures, inasmuch as it is the decision that the Xbox suits keep getting asked about. And the problem is that so far they've done little more than open mouth and insert foot. 

President of Xbox Sarah Bond was asked about the closure in May, and spent about a minute saying absolutely nothing. Then CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer waffled on about «doing the right thing for the individuals on the team», how «it's not about my PR, it's not about Xbox PR, it's about those teams,» and how «I have to make hard decisions that frankly are not decisions I love, but decisions that somebody needs to go make.»

It's all so vague, even verging on avoidance, that you're wondering why there isn't a straight answer. If the rationale was as cold and ruthless as «Tango's games don't sell in the quantities we expect for a first party studio» then Microsoft would rightly come in for some criticism, but would also lay the matter to rest.