Hazelight's director, Josef Fares, recently addressed the studio's relationship with EA and shared exciting news about their next project. Known for his candid nature, famously highlighted by his "f*** the Oscars" comment, Fares discussed Hazelight's journey on the Friends Per Second podcast. Following the success of their latest co-op adventure, Split Fiction, Fares revealed that the team is already brainstorming ideas for their upcoming game.
Fares explained his approach to game development, saying, "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 the best-received game Hazelight has produced, his focus has quickly shifted to the future. "This has been a bit extra special. I would say that it’s been the best-received game we have done, but to be honest, everybody is super happy, but I’m so fully-focused and excited on the next thing that we already have started."
Although Fares remained tight-lipped about the specifics of Hazelight's next title, citing the project's early stage (only about a month into development), he expressed immense enthusiasm. "There is a reason why I can’t talk about the next game; it’s because it’s quite early," he said. "You do know, at Hazelight, we don’t work on [a] game more than three or four years. Three or four years is not so far away. Then we’re going to talk more about it. It’s way too early, but just know this: we are very, very, very, very excited here. Very excited, and we started working on this a month ago-ish."
A Tale of Two Studios
Over the past seven years, Hazelight has collaborated with publisher EA on multiple titles. Despite EA's mixed reputation in the gaming industry, Fares described their relationship as positive and supportive. "Here’s the thing, people don’t understand this: EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them," he clarified. "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."
Fares praised EA's hands-off approach, stating, "With that said, I have to say, they’re a good partner. Nobody believes me. Whatever I say, they’re like, ‘Yeah, yeah. It’s EA.’ Look, I don’t know anything about what EA are doing. Maybe they’re f***ing up with other developers. With us, no. 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, earning a 9/10 from IGN, but it has also achieved remarkable sales success. The game sold 1 million copies within 48 hours and 2 million copies in just one week, surpassing the sales pace of its predecessor, It Takes Two, which had sold 20 million copies by October 2024.
