Hazelight's director, Josef Fares, recently provided clarity on his studio's relationship with EA and shared exciting news about their next project. Known for his candid remarks, including the memorable “f\*\*\* the Oscars” comment, Fares discussed Hazelight's journey during an appearance on the Friends Per Second podcast. Fans of their latest co-op adventure, Split Fiction, will be thrilled to learn that the team is already brainstorming ideas for their upcoming game.
Fares expressed his forward-looking approach, 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 highlighted that while Split Fiction has been the best-received game Hazelight has produced, his focus and excitement are already on the next project, which the team began working on just a month ago.
While Fares kept details about the new game under wraps, he emphasized the early stage of development, saying, “There is a reason why I can’t talk about the next game; it’s because it’s quite early. 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.” Despite the secrecy, his enthusiasm was palpable: “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 EA on multiple successful titles, including A Way Out and It Takes Two. Fares clarified that EA's role is purely supportive, with no creative input on the games Hazelight decides to develop. “Here’s the thing, people don’t understand this: EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them,” he explained. “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 their partnership, saying, “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 further cemented Hazelight's status as a top developer. The game received high praise, earning a 9/10 from IGN, and achieved impressive sales, selling 1 million copies in just 48 hours and 2 million copies within a week. This success outpaces their previous title, It Takes Two, which had sold 20 million copies by October 2024.
