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

Hazelight director Josef Fares recently clarified his studio's relationship with EA and announced that the team behind It Takes Two and Split Fiction is already working on their next project. In an interview on the Friends Per Second podcast, Fares, known for his candid remarks including the infamous "f*** the Oscars" line, discussed the studio's past successes and future endeavors. He shared that following the release of Split Fiction, Hazelight is excited to move on to new ideas.

Fares expressed his approach to game development, saying, "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 described Split Fiction as particularly special due to its reception, but emphasized his focus on the studio's upcoming project, which they began working on about a month ago. Although he couldn't reveal much about the new title, he assured fans that Hazelight remains committed to their signature co-op gaming style.

Fares explained the early stage of their next game, stating, "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. 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 EA on several successful titles, including A Way Out and It Takes Two. Despite EA's mixed reputation, Fares emphasized the positive nature of their partnership, stating that EA has had "zero" input on 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 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."

Fares praised EA's support, 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 proven to be another triumph for Hazelight, receiving high praise from critics, including a 9/10 from IGN. It also achieved impressive sales, reaching 1 million copies sold in just 48 hours and 2 million copies within a week. This rapid success has already outpaced It Takes Two, which sold 20 million copies by October 2024.