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 shared exciting news about their next project. Known for his candid remarks, including the infamous “f*** the Oscars” comment, Fares discussed Hazelight’s journey on the Friends Per Second podcast. Fans of their latest critically acclaimed co-op game, Split Fiction, will be thrilled to learn that the team is already brainstorming early concepts for their next title.

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.’” He emphasized the exceptional reception of Split Fiction, noting it as their best-received game yet. Despite this, his focus has already shifted to the future. “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 remains tight-lipped about the specifics of Hazelight's upcoming game—due to its early stage of development—he confirmed that work began about a month ago. Known for their impact on co-op gaming, Hazelight's next project remains under wraps for now, but fans can expect to hear more within the next few years.

“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. Fares emphasized that EA has had “zero” influence 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 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.”

Despite EA's mixed reputation, Fares described his experience with the publisher as largely positive. “With that said, I have to say, they’re a good partner,” he remarked. “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, with IGN giving it a 9/10 in their review, but it also achieved remarkable commercial success. The game sold 1 million copies within 48 hours and 2 million copies in just one week, surpassing the sales pace of their previous hit, It Takes Two, which had sold 20 million copies by October 2024.