Split Fiction Player Count EXPLODES On Launch Day

Split Fiction’s Massive Launch Proves Josef Fares Is a Force in Gaming

Hazelight Studios has done it... AGAIN. Split Fiction, the latest co-op adventure from Josef Fares, has launched to some seriously incredible numbers, peaking at nearly 200,000 concurrent players on day one.

On top of all that, the game's receiving glowing reviews across the board, further cementing Fares as one of the most consistent visionaries in the industry.

Founded originally back in 2014 by Swedish film director Josef Fares, Hazelight Studios has now become known throughout the entire video game industry for their unique approach to storytelling and, more importantly... cooperative gameplay.

The studio first gained recognition with A Way Out (2018), the industry's first co-op-only third-person action-adventure, following Fares’ earlier success with Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. Over the years, Hazelight has continued to expand, building a reputation for delivering innovative, emotional, and engaging co-op experiences that push the boundaries of game design. The success following It Takes Two allowed Hazelight Studios to solidify their reputation for crafting unique, engaging, and emotionally driven co-op experiences.

The studio prides itself on maintaining a close-knit and creative work culture, where collaboration and approachability fuel innovative game design. As far as I can tell, there is little to no signs of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) anywhere to be found within the halls of Hazelight, or even on their own webpage. None whatsoever.

Hazelight has remained committed to developing games they've been passionate about making, staying true to their creative visions rather than industry trends and checkbox marking. With their latest project now Split Fiction now released, gamers are now first hand seeing more and more of the studio’s signature storytelling and cooperative gameplay without any of the nonsense attached...

However, in an all-too-familiar move, certain media outlets of course are seemingly determined to inject controversy where none exists. A Dexerto X post (below) reports that Fares responded to fans allegedly calling Split Fiction "woke"

...But here’s the thing: Who was actually saying this? As someone who follows industry discourse extremely close, I honestly haven’t seen any kind of widespread complaints about Hazelight Studios games being woke. Minor murmors or concerns? sure. Outright accusations though? Nope. None. If anything, Fares’ titles have always focused on themes of family, relationships, and emotional storytelling—not any kind of political messaging or agenda pushing. They used one comment with 8 upvotes to ask Josef about the 'drama' surrounding it, which he rolls his eyes and explains that no... That has nothing at all to do with any of this.

This feels like yet another attempt by mainstream media sources, or even the original source of Fall Damage to spin a narrative that simply doesn’t exist: 

Having female characters in a game doesn’t automatically make it woke at all—it’s about the messaging behind the game, not just the simple fact of the inclusion of women. While I haven’t played Split Fiction (yet), it looks to me like another extremely solid entry in Fares’ catalog of heartfelt, narrative-driven games—a genre he’s dominated since Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

At the end of the day, Split Fiction is a massive success, and Fares deserves the praise. From his now-legendary “F* the Oscars”** moment at Geoff Keighley’s Game Awards to his open and authentic continued push for innovative co-op experiences, he and his entire studio have proven themselves to be a genuine force for good in the industry. His latest release only reinforces that.

So let’s cut the nonsense and just celebrate a great game doing well. That's ok to do sometimes too :-)

~Smash