Hazelight director Josef Fares has recently provided clarity on his studio's relationship with EA and announced that the team behind It Takes Two and Split Fiction is already hard at work on their next project. In an insightful interview on the Friends Per Second podcast, Fares, known for his candid remarks including the infamous "f*** the Oscars" line, discussed the studio's journey and future endeavors. Fans of Split Fiction, Hazelight's latest critically acclaimed co-op adventure, will be pleased to know that the team is already brainstorming early concepts for their next game.
Fares shared his personal approach to game development, stating, "For me, personally, every time a game is out, I’m kind of done with it. I’m kind of like, ‘OK, here’s the next thing.’" He emphasized that while Split Fiction has been exceptionally well-received, his focus and excitement are now directed towards the new project, which the team began working on about a month ago. Although Fares kept details about the upcoming title under wraps, he assured fans that the studio is "very, very, very, very excited" about what's to come.
Hazelight's collaboration with EA over the past seven years has been fruitful, with titles like A Way Out and It Takes Two cementing the studio's reputation as a leader in the gaming industry. Fares clarified the nature of their partnership, stating, "EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them. We say, ‘We’re going to do this.’ That’s it. They have zero, and I mean zero, thing to say about what we’re doing next." Despite EA's mixed reputation, Fares praised the publisher for respecting Hazelight's creative autonomy, saying, "They respect us. They respect what we do. I’m very clear with them that they cannot interfere with what we do. Now, we have become one of their most successful studios."
Split Fiction has not only received high praise from critics, with IGN awarding it a 9/10, but it has also achieved remarkable commercial success. The game sold 1 million copies within 48 hours of its release and reached 2 million copies sold in just one week, surpassing the sales pace of its predecessor, It Takes Two, which had sold 20 million copies by October 2024.
