Josef Fares, the charismatic mind behind Hazelight Studios, remains true to his principles: no microtransactions, no battle passes, no monetization nonsense. To mark the release of his new co-op adventure, “Split Fiction“The director has once again clearly positioned himself against microtransactions in games and expressed sharp criticism of the industry.
Creativity killer or necessary evil?
In a current YouTube videoIn a post where he responds to comments about his games, Fares doesn't mince words. He responds to a post that reads: "No loot boxes, no microtransactions, no nonsense. Words to live by." he replied: "Of course. And that applies to everything we do at Hazelight."
Fares argues that microtransactions fundamentally influence game design and often lead to financial interests being prioritized over creative decisions: "Every time a design decision is made that aims to make more money from the game, I believe that is a huge problem and holds our industry back from a creative point of view."
Why Hazelight is taking a different path
But microtransactions aren't the only thing that bothers him. Fares also uses the interview to take aim at major publishers like Ubisoft. He criticizes their lack of commitment to cooperative gaming experiences. “Other publishers don’t do that, and that’s crazy to me. Why don’t they take [Splinter Cell’s protagonist] Sam Fisher and make a pure split-screen game?” In his opinion, that would be a guaranteed success.
Hazelight remains true to its DNA, delivering another cooperative experience with "Split Fiction." The game follows two girls who must escape from a series of computer simulations. A particularly noteworthy feature: only one player needs to own the game; the co-op partner can... Play for free with Friend's Pass.
Fares' outspoken stance and clear vision for video games consistently garner attention in the industry. While other studios become bogged down in monetization strategies, Hazelight remains true to the classic gaming experience – and that's precisely what makes their games so unique.
In the same interview, Fares also defends himself against the claim that that "Split Fiction" is feminist propaganda, just because there are two female protagonists.
