It Takes Two
9 documents in the library are about It Takes Two, from writers such as Game Developers Conference, GameDiscoverCo and The Game Business, the newest from 2026. Each has a summary and key insights with the page they come from.
It Takes Two is a cooperative action-adventure game designed exclusively for two players, playable in local split-screen or online. Players control Cody and May, a married couple transformed into dolls, as they travel through fantastical environments based on their home and relationship. Gameplay combines platforming, puzzle-solving, and action sequences, with each level introducing new mechanics and giving the two characters different abilities that must be used together to progress. The game frequently changes its core mechanics from chapter to chapter, incorporating sections involving shooting, racing, flight, and other genres.
- Released
- Mar 25, 2021
- Developer
- Hazelight Studios
- Publisher
- Electronic Arts
- Genres
- Platform, Puzzle, Adventure
- Platforms
- Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch 2, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
- Links
- Official site, Wikipedia
Game data from IGDB.com
Documents about It Takes Two
Split Fiction’s Josef Fares on Clair Obscur success, AI fears and EA’s reputation
Josef Fares, the creative director of Hazelight Studios, emphasizes a philosophy of prioritizing creative vision over market data to drive game development.
- Hazelight Studios has achieved significant commercial success by prioritizing creative vision over market data, resulting in 27 million units sold for 'It Takes Two' and 12 million for 'A Way Out'.
- Josef Fares explicitly rejects taking Hazelight public, arguing that the pressure to satisfy stock market stakeholders forces companies to prioritize short-term financial gains over long-term creative quality.
- The studio maintains a staff of approximately 80 employees and operates under a co-op-only design philosophy that intentionally avoids risk-averse, data-driven decision-making.
Split Fiction’s Josef Fares: “I would not be able to live without AAA titles”
Hazelight Studios director Josef Fares emphasizes the necessity of maintaining a diverse gaming landscape, arguing that the industry requires both high-budget AAA blockbusters and smaller-scale titles.
- Hazelight Studios has achieved significant commercial success with its co-op-only titles, selling 12 million units of 'A Way Out' (2018), 27 million units of 'It Takes Two' (2021), and 4 million units of 'Split Fiction' within its first two months of release.
- Josef Fares explicitly rejects taking Hazelight public, arguing that the pressure to satisfy stock market financial expectations forces studios to make poor creative decisions.
- Fares advocates for a balanced industry ecosystem, warning publishers against abandoning AAA development in favor of a singular focus on AA titles despite the recent success of games like 'Clair Obscur: Expedition 33'.
Astro Bot Has Now Sold More Than 2.3 Million Copies
Astro Bot has achieved a significant commercial milestone, surpassing 2.3 million units sold as of March 2025.
- Astro Bot has surpassed 2.3 million copies sold as of March 2025, with a significant growth milestone of 2 million units reached on January 8, 2025.
- The game’s Game of the Year win at The Game Awards on December 12, 2024, acted as a catalyst for sales, providing a second wind after momentum had stabilized following the 1.5-million-unit mark in November.
- The United States remains the largest market for the title, accounting for 29.1% of the player base.
Split Fiction Becomes EA’s Second-Biggest Steam Launch, Triples It Takes Two’s Peak Player Count
Hazelight Studios’ latest co-op title, Split Fiction, has achieved a significant commercial milestone following its March 6, 2025, release on Steam.
- Hazelight Studios' 'Split Fiction' achieved a peak of 254,756 concurrent players on Steam following its March 6, 2025, launch.
- The game ranks as EA's second-biggest Steam launch of all time, trailing only the free-to-play title Apex Legends.
- Split Fiction's peak player count is more than triple the 71,039 record set by the developer's previous title, It Takes Two.
The 2022 Game Developers Choice Awards (Full Video)
The 22nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards serves as a comprehensive recognition of excellence within the global interactive entertainment industry for the 2021 calendar year.
- Inscryption was named the Game of the Year at the 22nd annual Game Developers Choice Awards, which recognized excellence in the 2021 calendar year.
- Valheim achieved significant market impact by securing both the Best Debut and the Audience Award.
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart demonstrated industry-leading technical and artistic standards by winning awards for both Best Visual Art and Best Technology.
Creating the Soundscape of 'It Takes Two'
The development of It Takes Two required a specialized audio strategy to address the inherent challenges of a split-screen cooperative experience.
- Hazelight Studios developed a custom spatial panning system for 'It Takes Two' that decouples attenuation from panning, allowing the game to prioritize the closest listener for volume and the listener with the best forward angle for directional positioning.
- To manage split-screen audio, the team implemented a system where non-spatialized 2D sounds are panned toward the specific player's viewport—May’s world slightly to the left and Cody’s to the right—to maintain mix clarity.
- The audio team utilized 'bigness' and exaggeration, inspired by Pixar, to emphasize important gameplay elements and maintain a clean mix during chaotic sequences by ensuring the most critical sounds are prioritized in the soundscape.
Plus: Rome Burns Hot, NieR's Porting Fail
This analysis examines current market trends and upcoming releases for the PC and console gaming sectors, focusing on Steam and the Nintendo Switch during late April 2021.
- The co-op title It Takes Two has surpassed one million copies sold, indicating a strong, underserved market demand for innovative two-player gaming experiences.
- NieR Replicant’s PC launch is underperforming due to technical criticism regarding gameplay speed being tied to frame rate, despite high initial sales expectations.
- Total War: Rome Remastered currently leads Steam’s Hype charts as a top 50 unreleased wishlist title, signaling strong anticipation ahead of major AAA releases like Resident Evil Village.
Plus: Outriders & It Takes Two Get Hyped
This analysis examines Steam platform trends and launch performance for late March and early April 2021, utilizing proprietary Hype rankings, follower counts, and concurrent player data to evaluate game discovery and commercial success.
- Outriders achieved a peak of 100,000 concurrent Steam players but maintained a 64% 'Mixed' review rating due to server instability and mandatory online requirements.
- It Takes Two sold an estimated 150,000 units on Steam in its first week, earning an 'Overwhelmingly Positive' rating from over 4,000 reviews.
- Outriders' pre-launch performance, driven by 95,000 followers, confirms strong market demand for the looter-shooter genre despite technical launch issues.
It Takes Two to Tango: Integrating UX Research and Production at EA
Electronic Arts transformed its approach to user experience research by shifting from informal, designer-led playtesting to a rigorous, integrated professional discipline.
- The 2010 cancellation of NBA Elite served as the primary catalyst for EA to transition from informal, designer-led playtesting to a rigorous, integrated user experience research discipline.
- Effective research requires an embedded model where researchers function as core project members rather than external consultants to ensure insights align with production constraints.
- EA utilizes statistical tools like confidence intervals to help developers differentiate between stable game features and those posing high-risk, polarized outcomes.