Hazelight’s new game will be better than Split Fiction
Hazelight Studios has become one of the strongest names in co-op gaming. Their 2025 hit, Split Fiction, was nominated for numerous awards throughout the year and received widespread praise from both players and critics. However, according to the studio’s creative director, Josef Fares, this success is not the peak, but merely a stepping stone. Fares has already raised expectations by openly stating that Hazelight’s next game will be even better than Split Fiction.
Hazelight Raises the Bar Even Higher with Its Next Game
In an interview with The Game Business, Josef Fares, founder and creative director of Hazelight Studios, spoke very clearly about the studio’s future plans. Fares stated that as a team, they set themselves more challenging goals with each project, and therefore they are extremely confident about the new game. According to him, this confidence is a natural result not only of previous successes but also of the work culture the studio has built over the years.
One point Fares particularly emphasizes is the largely preserved Hazelight team. He notes that they’ve been working with a core team of around 80 people for a long time, and this continuity strengthens creative cohesion. Continuing to produce with the same spirit since their first game, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, has allowed both the design philosophy and the trust within the team to deepen.
The creativity that is the most prominent feature of Hazelight games is, in Fares’ words, achieved by “breaking down boundaries.” He says that developers often unconsciously limit themselves, and within the team, they focus on breaking down these walls. Instead of repeating what’s been done before, the team is encouraged to try different approaches, thus successfully reinterpreting the classic co-op formula in each game.
On the commercial side, Hazelight’s approach is quite clear. Split Fiction selling millions of copies upon its release and It Takes Two achieving massive sales figures over the years are seen as a result of the studio’s “player-centric” decisions. Fares emphasizes that instead of chasing trends with data analysis, they always do “what’s best for the game.” Approaching artificial intelligence, and especially generative AI, cautiously, Fares argues that technology can be a helpful tool but cannot replace a strong vision.
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