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

Hazelight director Josef Fares has recently shed light 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 engaging interview on the Friends Per Second podcast, Fares, known for his candid "f*** the Oscars" remark, discussed Hazelight's journey, current endeavors, and future aspirations.

For fans of Split Fiction, Hazelight's latest critically acclaimed co-op adventure, Fares revealed that the team is brimming with early ideas for their upcoming game. "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 shared, highlighting his forward-looking mindset post-Split Fiction. He emphasized the exceptional reception of the game, noting it as the studio's best-received project to date, yet his excitement is already pivoting towards what's next. "Everybody is super happy, but I'm so fully-focused and excited on the next thing that we already have started," he added.

While Fares kept details about Hazelight's mysterious next title under wraps, mentioning that work began only about a month ago, he expressed immense excitement about the project. Known for revolutionizing co-op gaming, Hazelight's next move is eagerly anticipated, though fans will have to wait a few years to learn more. "There is a reason why I can't talk about the next game; it's because it's quite early," Fares explained. "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 successful titles, including A Way Out and It Takes Two. Despite EA's varied reputation in the gaming industry, Fares clarified that the publisher has had "zero" influence over Hazelight's creative decisions. "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."

Fares praised EA as a positive partner, countering skepticism about the publisher's involvement with developers. "With that said, I have to say, they're a good partner," he noted. "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 cemented Hazelight's status as a leading developer but also achieved remarkable commercial success. The game received high praise from critics, earning a 9/10 from IGN, and sold 1 million copies within 48 hours and 2 million copies in just one week. These figures indicate that Split Fiction is outpacing its predecessor, It Takes Two, which had sold 20 million copies by October 2024.