Split Fiction creator Josef Fares is living proof that studios like Hazelight don’t need live-service games to be relevant. They do what they want.

The live service trend has been growing within the gaming industry in recent years. Even with stories of big successes and failures, not every developer is eager to follow this trend. Josef Fares, founder of Hazelight Studios and director of It Takes Two and Split Fiction, has made it clear that his studio will never create a live service game.

What a valid and true thing to say. | Image Credit: Hazelight Studios

Fares and Hazelight Studios are returning to storefronts on 6 March 2025 for the release of Spit Fiction. The director behind 2021’s Game of The Year (It Takes Two) believes that a balance must exist between being driven by financial success and creativity. This is something he refuses to compromise on for Hazelight.

Hazelight Studios isn’t going to make a live service title anytime soon

This absolute boss man won’t allow it. | Image Credit: Hazelight Studios

Josef Fares has never been one to hold back his opinions and we love him for it. It’s also nice to see that his stance on live service games is no exception. In a conversation with Eurogamer discussing live service games, he firmly stated, “We will not have them, I do not believe in them.”

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.

He further elaborated that he hopes more developers will focus on their passion rather than chasing trends. He notes that Hazelight Studios has proven that games centered on creative vision can still reach a large audience, pointing to the massive success of It Takes Two, which has sold around 23 million copies according to him.

The industry has been leaning more and more toward the live service genre, but most of it has been hit or miss. EA’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, recently suggested that Dragon Age: The Veilguard could have performed better commercially had it been a live service title. We all know that’s just not true because that game had a lot more problems than that.

While there’s nothing wrong with the live-service genre or its games, the industry’s attempts to always make the next hit game has become a bit annoying. So it’s nice to know that there are developers and studios that are focused on doing what they want and what they are good at.

Split Fiction will just prove his words right

The next adventure from the studio comes out on March. | Image Credit: Hazelight Studios

Fares understands the financial realities of game development but argues that the industry must strike a balance between business and creativity. “I have an understanding that publishers have a lot of, you know, worries about the ‘money issue,’” he says on the topic of revenue.

He also insists that developers should not be motivated only by the potential for revenue. “We are working with a piece of art here, so you have to respect the creativity as well.” And you know what? This is exactly the kind of mindset that Larian Studios’ Swen Vincke predicted that the 2025 Game of The Year winner would have in his speech at The Game Awards 2024.

You can’t argue the logic of either of these studio bosses. Both of their games won Game of The Year, you know why? Because they made good games with only the player’s experience, joy, and fun in mind. You’d think the formula would’ve been cracked by everyone by now but it apparently hasn’t.