Hazelight director Josef Fares has recently addressed the studio's relationship with EA and excitingly confirmed that the team behind It Takes Two and Split Fiction is already hard at work on their next game. Known for his candidness, Fares, who famously declared "f\*\*\* the Oscars," shared insights into Hazelight's past, present, and future during an interview on the Friends Per Second podcast. Fans of the studio's latest critically acclaimed co-op adventure, Split Fiction, will be thrilled to hear that early ideas for the next project are already taking shape.
“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,'" Fares explained, discussing his mindset post-Split Fiction release. “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 new project under wraps, he mentioned that work began about a month ago. Known for revolutionizing co-op gaming, Hazelight's next title remains a mystery for now, but fans can anticipate more news in a few years.
“There is a reason why I can’t talk about the next game; it’s because it’s quite early,” Fares elaborated. “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. With successful releases like A Way Out and It Takes Two, the studio has solidified its reputation as a top developer. Fares clarified that EA has had “zero” influence over the games Hazelight chooses to develop.
“Here’s the thing, people don’t understand this: EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them,” he stated. “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, Fares praised the publisher for their positive relationship with Hazelight as the studio looks ahead to its next project.
“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 received high praise from critics, earning a 9/10 from IGN, but it also achieved remarkable commercial success. The game sold 1 million copies within just 48 hours and reached 2 million copies in a week, surpassing the sales pace of its predecessor, It Takes Two, which had sold 20 million copies by October 2024.
