Speaking to IGN, director John Johanas said that the shadow drop decision came from the game's marketing team in part because of uncertainty about how a longer marketing cycle might play out. Because Tango is known for horror, and Hi-Fi Rush is decidedly not that, they thought simply dropping it onto Game Pass without a long lead-up would help it gain popularity naturally through sudden word of mouth, just as it had within Bethesda during development. "interview with Xbox head Phil Spencer where we touched on Hi-Fi Rush as well as Xbox's 2023 lineup and more