Hazelight director Josef Fares has recently provided clarity on his studio's relationship with EA and announced that the team behind the successful titles It Takes Two and Split Fiction is already in the early stages of developing their next game.

During an insightful interview on the Friends Per Second podcast, the creative mind behind the memorable “f\*\*\* the Oscars” quote discussed Hazelight’s journey so far and what lies ahead. For fans of Split Fiction, Hazelight’s latest critically acclaimed co-op adventure, Fares shared that the studio is already brainstorming new ideas.

“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, reflecting on his mindset post-Split Fiction. “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.”

Fares kept details about Hazelight's upcoming project under wraps, noting that the project is in its infancy, having started just a month ago. While Hazelight is renowned for its innovative approach to co-op gaming, fans will need to wait a few more years to learn more about their follow-up to Split Fiction.

“There is a reason why I can’t talk about the next game; it’s because it’s quite early,” Fares added. “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 projects. Titles such as A Way Out and It Takes Two have solidified Hazelight's reputation as a top developer in the gaming industry. Fares emphasized that EA has no say in the creative decisions at Hazelight.

“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 sometimes controversial reputation, Fares described his experience with them as overwhelmingly positive, praising their respect for Hazelight’s creative process.

“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 in IGN's review, but it also achieved remarkable commercial success, selling 1 million copies within the first 48 hours and 2 million copies in just one week. This rapid success outpaces Hazelight's previous hit, It Takes Two, which had sold 20 million copies by October 2024.