Swedish-based developer Hazelight Studios has made a big name for itself in a pretty short time. The creative outlet of former film director Josef Fares, Hazelight Studios has excelled in the world of co-op gaming over its short life thus far. The small developer has worked in collaboration with EA as part of its EA Originals line to create titles with compelling cooperative gameplay and memorable, emotional stories.
During The Game Awards 2024, the publisher announced its newest project. This new title, Split Fiction, moves into a more sci-fi/fantasy direction and is set for launch early in 2025. Following 2018’s A Way Out and 2021’s It Takes Two, this new project looks to build on the gameplay of the developer’s last game to build an even more definitive game.
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Hazelight Studios Game Lineup
A Way Out
Hazelight Studios’ first project came in the form of 2018’s A Way Out. While it wasn’t Josef Fares’ first game – that distinction belongs to 2013’s Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons – this was his first true foray into co-op-mandatory gaming. The story centers around two convicts named Vincent and Leo who work to escape from prison and evade authorities, complete with an ending that serves as a major emotional gut-punch.
There is no single-player mode in A Way Out, so interested players will have to find a buddy to partner up with if they want to play it. The game is somewhat asynchronous in its gameplay, in the sense that one player may be in control of their character while the other is watching a cutscene. It’s a unique take on the co-op adventure that provides plenty of action-packed set pieces to go along with some emotional storytelling.
It Takes Two
The studio’s next project was 2021’s It Takes Two, which was a major tonal change of pace for Hazelight. Compared to A Way Out’s more gritty design, It Takes Two goes for a much more vibrant and colorful art direction. The writing still takes on many emotional turns, though, as the story centers around Cody and May, a married couple on the rocks who get turned into dolls and must work to fix their relationship for the sake of their young daughter, Rose.
Where A Way Out centered on action-heavy gameplay, It Takes Two is a platformer that changes genres at will. Despite primarily being a platformer, the game also becomes a third-person shooter, a rhythm game, and even a top-down RPG. It’s all done in an incredibly cohesive way and in service to the game as a whole, and its success was enough to earn Hazelight a Game of the Year victory at The Game Awards in 2021.
Where
A Way Out
centered heavily on action-heavy gameplay,
It Takes Two
is a platformer that changes genres at will.
Split Fiction
Three years after said award win, Josef Fares and his team returned to The Game Awards 2024 to announce the next project, Split Fiction. Another co-op-based adventure from Hazelight, this title centers around two young women named Mio and Zoe who write sci-fi and fantasy stories, respectively. These two aspiring authors end up in their own stories after being trapped in machines attempting to deprive them of their creativity, and they must rely on each other to break free without losing their memories.
Split Fiction combines the action-adventure and platformer elements of the developer’s previous two games, and builds on the genre-bending style of It Takes Two in a major way. Throughout different points in the game, players can fly high in the sky on the backs of dragons through fiery locales, swim through the sea as mermaids, and even run around as pigs that later become sausages. It’s the latest step in Hazelight’s creative journey and is sure to be one of 2025’s most exciting games when it launches on March 6.
The co-op masterminds are back, pushing the creative limits with their new action-packed buddy adventure, Split Fiction. From the studio behind 2021 Game of the Year Winner It Takes Two, venture into a world that jumps between Sci-Fi and Fantasy to overcome varied and unexpected gameplay challenges with a friend. Split Fiction’s vast array of ever-changing mechanics keeps you on the edge of your couch with surprising moments. Find out what happens when two radically different worlds collide in this fortuitous story of friendship.
Story
Mio and Zoe are contrasting writers who become trapped in their own stories after being hooked up to a machine designed to steal their creative ideas. To escape with their minds intact, they’ll need to overcome their differences to crash the system that holds them, uncovering secrets and personal struggles hidden within their own fiction.
Key Features
● True Co-Op Adventure – Split Fiction is an adventure tailored for two. As Mio and Zoe, you’ll experience split screen co-op gameplay where you have to coordinate your actions and timing, as well as work together to overcome challenges through unique worlds of fiction like lush Fantasy environments and Sci-Fi skylines. This wild ride comes to you from Hazelight, the co-op thrill-makers that brought you It Takes Two and A Way Out.
● Unparalleled Variety – Discover new mechanics and abilities in every level of your adventure, which will alternate between sci-fi and fantasy settings. Escape a sun that’s going supernova, challenge a monkey to a dance battle, try out some cool hoverboard tricks, fight an evil kitty, and ride everything from gravity bikes to a sandshark. Experience worlds that are entirely different from each other, unexpected new abilities, and a range of gameplay that includes platforming, puzzles, and more. There are surprises waiting for you and your partner around every corner.
● The Power of Friendship – Mio and Zoe don’t get along at first, but soon enough they become each other’s only hopes. This journey will throw unexpected twists at them and if they want to make it through, they’ll need to have each other’s backs. They’ll encounter both bizarre situations as they traverse stories born from their own wild imaginations. Most importantly – they’ll face it all together.
● Sci-Fi and Fantasy Worlds – Venture through fantastical realms and discover idyllic villages and mystical sanctuaries filled with magical beings in Zoe’s world of fiction. Board a flying train and explore Mio’s imaginary realms of futuristic space stations, intense battlefields and more. Engage in hidden “side stories” – vivid snapshots extracted from the depths of Mio and Zoes’ minds that go beyond Sci-Fi and Fantasy – where you can learn more about their past and the roads that led them to by Rader.
● More Ways to Play Together – Friend’s Pass – Hazelight’s staple feature that allows one player that owns the game to invite a friend to play for free – is back and makes playing with friends even easier with crossplay options enabled for PlayStation, Xbox and PC (via Steam).
Action
Adventure
Sci-Fi
Fantasy
- Released
- March 6, 2025
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Multiplayer
- Online Co-Op , Local Co-Op