Split Fiction
GameBy Hazelight Studios
Documents about Split Fiction
Game Developers Conference74 min
Splitting Fiction: The Hardest Level Hazelight Studios Ever Built
The final level of Split Fiction serves as a masterclass in cooperative game design, centering on a split-world mechanic that forces players to navigate synchronized sci-fi and fantasy environments simultaneously.
- Hazelight Studios refined the 'split-world' mechanic into a climactic finale rather than a game-wide feature to manage the high technical and artistic demands of maintaining two synchronized environments.
- The studio achieved visual disparity between sci-fi and fantasy worlds while maintaining performance by utilizing shared collision geometry combined with distinct aesthetic layers like color palettes and foliage.
- Designers forced constant player communication by implementing information asymmetry, where essential data is split between participants rather than allowing one player to lead.
Game Developers ConferenceOct 2026
Game Developers Conference36 min
How to Succeed in Co-Development: Sam Carlisle Interview
Co-development represents a strategic evolution in game production, shifting away from traditional, transactional outsourcing toward deeply integrated partnerships.
- Co-development is increasingly essential for industry sustainability, allowing studios to balance resources, diversify revenue streams, and scale production without the risks of hiring full-time staff.
- External development partners provide greater organizational resilience than traditional in-house models because they typically work on multiple titles simultaneously, protecting them from the impact of a single project cancellation.
- When selecting a co-development partner, the strength of the personal relationship and the partner's willingness to communicate problems early are more critical to project success than technical quality alone.
Game Developers ConferenceSep 2026
GameDiscoverCo39 min
'Advance Access' games - why should you pay more?
Publishers are increasingly monetizing early entry to highly anticipated titles through formal advance access programs, typically charging a premium of ten to fifteen dollars.
- GDC 2027 has restructured its format to a Monday–Friday schedule, moving the festival hall to Tuesday–Thursday and introducing a new Business Hall at Moscone West to centralize networking and mitigate the logistical challenges of the San Francisco venue.
- Advance Access for games like 'Mortal Shell II'—which achieved 23,000 concurrent users—is increasingly being monetized through premium editions that charge a $10–$15 surcharge for early play, effectively creating a market for artificial scarcity and FOMO.
- PlayStation has begun de-listing publishers associated with 'shovelware' or low-effort games designed primarily for easy Platinum trophy farming, though the platform's enforcement remains inconsistent and subject to reversal.
GameDiscoverCoAug 2026
Deconstructor of Fun12 min
The New Era of Social Gaming
The gaming industry in 2025 is defined by a significant shift toward social, co-op-focused experiences that prioritize player interaction over high-fidelity graphics.
- The gaming industry is shifting toward social, co-op-focused experiences that prioritize player interaction over high-fidelity graphics, as evidenced by the success of indie titles like Peak and Repo.
- Mobile gaming has reached extreme maturity, with revenue growth stagnating at approximately 1% and the number of games generating over $100 million annually declining by 4%.
- Market consolidation is intensifying, with growth heavily concentrated among the top 50 publishers and new title scaling hindered by market saturation and IDFA-related user acquisition challenges.
Deconstructor of FunMay 2026
The Game Business24 min
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.
The Game BusinessJan 2026
The Game Business30 min
Attracting new players with ROG Xbox Ally will be a ‘longer journey’
The gaming industry is currently navigating a significant transition as major platform holders, particularly Xbox, shift from traditional console-exclusive models toward a hybrid console-PC ecosystem.
- The European gaming market experienced a contraction in the first 20 weeks of the year, with unit sales declining by 6% and total revenue falling by 2%.
- Despite overall market contraction, consumer spending per game increased by €2 year-over-year, indicating a shift toward higher investment in indie and high-quality, shorter experiences.
- The Asus ROG Ally is currently positioned as a niche 'frontier product' for enthusiasts rather than a mass-market device, primarily because its Windows-based software lacks the plug-and-play accessibility of native console operating systems.
The Game BusinessAug 2025
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As the documents state it.