The Evil Within was met with a mixed critical response when it launched in 2014, but fans of the genre have since found plenty to enjoy about designer Shinji Mikami’s return to psychological horror. Now, there is word that developer Tango Gameworks is hiring in preparation for a follow-up.
Over the weekend, a Japanese-language job description was posted to the popular video game forum NeoGaf. The document described roles related to translation and quality assurance for a sequel to Psycho Break — which was the Japanese title for the game released in the west as The Evil Within.
According to the job description, The Evil Within 2 is in development for the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One. If the project is already at the stage of testing and bug fixes, it is reasonable to assume that it is deep into production, even though it hasn’t been officially announced at this time.
Of course, it is entirely possible that this document is a fake. However, there are several other pieces of evidence that suggest there is a likely sequel to The Evil Within.
Tango Gameworks was established in 2010 and The Evil Within was officially announced as its first project in 2012. The studio has not released a new title since releasing the game more than two years ago, so there has been some speculation that a follow-up was inbound.
The Evil Within was published by Bethesda and in August, the company’s vice president of PR and marketing, Pete Hines, commented on the potential for a sequel. Hines fell short of confirming that a follow-up was on its way but suggested that the game sold enough to warrant another outing, according to IGN.
Earlier in 2017, Resident Evil 7 was released to widespread critical acclaim and a healthy sales performance. Given that there is a demonstrable audience for horror games across the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, this could be the perfect time for a sequel to The Evil Within.