Hazelight Studios’ new co-op adventure Split Fiction has debuted to a GOTY-level success, selling two million copies in its first week with a stunning 91 Metascore. Founder and Game Director Josef Fares revealed that the studio’s next project, which the team is “very, very, very, very excited about,” has already been in the works since around a month ago, before Split Fiction’s release on March 6.
Speaking during an interview with the Skill Up podcast, the legendary developer said that he is done with a game once it’s released. Split Fiction is undoubtedly the best-received game they ever made, with which everyone on the team is super happy and in a super good mood. It has boosted the confidence and belief that “we can do way better.” Yet, as someone who has lots of game ideas in mind, he cannot wait to start the next one, “I’m so fully-focused and excited on the next thing that we already have started.”
That gives us something really exciting to look forward to. Josef discusses the upcoming game without revealing many details (around the 49-minute mark), when he looks at his screen displaying ideas. He mentions that there is a document of about 130 pages that outlines the core elements of the next game, including mainly the storyline, with some bits about gameplay mechanics, where the game begins and ends, and the journey of the characters. From this, the team will explore various ideas.
However, it’s understandable that it’s not the right time to talk about it yet since it’s still in the very beginning stage. But they won’t keep us waiting for so long. “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.”
Hazelight Studios
As the interview continued, Josef was asked if the idea was pitched to EA, which he denied and explained how things work between the developer and publisher.
“Here’s the thing, people don’t understand this: EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them. 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…With that said, I have to say, they’re a good partner. 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.”
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