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Josef Fares, director at Hazelight Studios, has shared his concerns about publishers following industry trends too closely. In a recent interview with The Game Business, the Split Fiction director urges the gaming industry to maintain diversity in game development.
“I remember in the beginning, not many people believed in them,” Fares said.
“There was no market for co-op-only, blah blah. Now it’s the opposite. Now we’re selling more than some of the biggest AAA titles.”
Despite the studio’s success, Fares expressed concern about the recent excitement surrounding AA games following the success of titles like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. He worries publishers might shift focus entirely to this market segment.
“I would not be able to live without a AAA title. I really want to play the blockbuster games,” Fares explained.
“You can’t do GTA for $10 million. We need both.”
He pointed out that while many AA games released this year, most went unnoticed. Fares emphasized the importance of maintaining variety across all budget levels rather than jumping from one trend to another.
When asked about innovation at the AAA level, Fares defended big-budget developers, citing Naughty Dog, Rockstar, and Nintendo as examples of studios that push boundaries while working with large budgets.
“It’s proven that you can do it,” he said, acknowledging that budgets exceeding $100 million naturally make developers more cautious.
Fares also discussed Hazelight’s approach to decision-making, stating that every choice is based on what benefits the game rather than analyzing sales data. He mentioned the Friend Pass feature, which allows two players to enjoy Hazelight’s games online with only one purchase, as an example of a creative decision that also became good for business.
The director maintains that Hazelight will never become a public company, as he believes it would force the studio to make decisions focused purely on financials rather than game quality. Hazelight has built its reputation on co-op-only story games, a concept many initially doubted. The studio’s track record speaks for itself: A Way Out sold 12 million copies, It Takes Two reached 27 million sales, and Split Fiction hit four million units in just two months.
