Josef Fares, founder of Hazelight Studios, the developer behind the imaginative, unique, co-op sleeper hit It Takes Two, has a steadfast mindset when it comes to making video games: “Bulls—, no s—, just make games period.”
It’s a refreshing — and as gloomy as it sounds to say, a maverick mindset to have in a day and age where microtransactions, in-game monetization and promising video games getting canceled (and their studios getting shut down) because they’re not meeting corporate quotas and production cycles are the norm.
Luckily, Hazelight and Josef Fares — whose upcoming action-adventure co-op game Split Fiction will release on March 6th — are not beholden to the pervasive, money-first mindset of the industry.
“Hazelight is not for sale. I mean, we will always do what we do, and we love what to do period,” Fares said during a Q&A session with MinnMax. “And we will never be on the stock market as well — get that in, period. And we will never have microtransactions, bullshit, no shit, just make games. Period.”
Gameplay from Split Fiction/Hazelight Studios
According to Hazelight, Split Fiction is “a unique action-adventure experience that keeps you on the edge of your couch with unexpected moments. One minute you’re taming adorable dragons and the next you’re fighting as cyber ninjas, escaping terrifying trolls, or dodging hover cars thrown by a robotic parking attendant. It’s weird, it’s wild, and it’s designed to be shared.”
How will Split Fiction compare to the game’s previous title It Takes Two in terms of playtime? They’ll be roughly the same, according to Fares — roughly 12-14 hours to beat the main storyline.
Fares added that there’ll be side content in Split Fiction that players won’t want to miss, and which should ramp up the playtime to approximately 17+ hours total.
Fares’ recent comments about microtransactions (or lack thereof) and live service games echo what he told Eurogamer earlier this month. In light of EA CEO Andrew Wilson stating that Dragon Age: The Veilguard failed to meet the company’s expectations and that it would of been more successful as a live-service game, Fares disagreed.
“I think [live service] is not the right way to go,” Fares said. “I hope more and more [developers] focus on their passion, and what they believe in. At the end of the day, we see clearly—and Hazelight is living proof—that when you trust in your vision and go with it, you can still reach a big audience. That’s what I want people to focus on.”
Split Fiction will be available on March 6th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC platforms.
Do you share the sentiment of Split Fiction’s Josef Fares on microtransactions? Are you looking forward to Hazelight’s upcoming game? Let us know in the comments.
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