Hazelight Praises EA as 'Good Partner' Amid Next Game Development

Hazelight director Josef Fares recently provided clarity on his studio's relationship with EA and teased that the team behind It Takes Two and Split Fiction is already working on their next project. During an interview on the Friends Per Second podcast, Fares, known for his candid comments including the infamous "f*** the Oscars" remark, discussed the past, present, and future of Hazelight. For fans of Split Fiction, Hazelight's latest critically acclaimed cooperative adventure, Fares shared that the team is already brainstorming early concepts for their next endeavor.

Fares expressed his 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,’" reflecting on his mindset post-Split Fiction. He described the game as the studio's most warmly received title to date, yet his focus is already on 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."

While Fares kept details about Hazelight's upcoming project under wraps, he noted that the project is still in its infancy, having started just a month ago. He emphasized Hazelight's reputation in the cooperative gaming space but advised fans to wait a few more years for more information on how the studio plans to follow up Split Fiction. "There is a reason why I can’t talk about the next game; it’s because it’s quite early," Fares 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 several projects. Titles like A Way Out and It Takes Two have cemented Hazelight's status as a top developer in the gaming industry. Fares clarified that EA has "zero" influence over 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 varied reputation as a publisher, Fares described his experience with them as overwhelmingly positive as Hazelight moves forward. "With that said, I have to say, they’re a good partner," Fares added. "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 been a critical success, with IGN awarding it a 9/10 in their review, but it also achieved impressive sales figures. The game sold 1 million copies within the first 48 hours and reached 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.