Josef Fares, the famously eccentric and foul-mouthed director behind It Takes Two, is back and drumming up excitement for the announcement of his next game at The Game Awards.
Fares is known for his on and off-stage antics, and in particular, his endearing and animated excitement about his own games. Back in 2021, he jokingly (at least, I hope) promised to give $1,000 to anyone who got bored with It Takes Two. Naturally, after that came out and received universal acclaim, he said his next game would be “even better.”
Well, we’re about to see what all the hype is about, as Fares has confirmed following a leak that Hazelight’s next project will be revealed at The Game Awards 2024 this Thursday.
In a video shared to Hazelight’s Twitter account, Fares can be seen zipping around his studio, showcasing the various awards it’s won, and chatting with developers. At one point, he interacts with a developer working on “a big boss in the game” that he says we will “go nuts” over.
He then strolls over to Hazelight’s motion capture room and casually reveals the stars of the game: Mio, played by Kaja Chan, and Zoe, played by Elsie Bennett. Fares says the characters are inspired by his real-life daughters, who are actually named Mio and Zoe.
Finally, Fares sits down to play the game, although we never catch a glimpse of it. “A lot of people say I’m cocky, but it’s impossible to not be cocky when you have a game like this in front of you. I’m telling you. You will see what I mean when you play it.”
According to the yet unconfirmed rumor mill, Hazelight’s next game is called Split Fiction and is coming to PC and consoles in March. The studio itself lent some credibility to that rumor with a tease on its Twitter account, but when the full reveal is 48 hours away, it’s probably not worth getting into all of that right now.
Find out why It Takes Two is one of the best co-op games to play right now.