Josef Fares on the Importance of AAA Blockbusters, AI, and the Great People at EA

One of the most prominent and noteworthy developers in contemporary gaming, **Josef Fares**, recently shared his thoughts in an interview with **The Game Business**. The eccentric creator spoke about his strong relationship with **Electronic Arts**, expressed his views on mid-budget projects, and delved into the themes of risk and responsibility, as well as the significance of AI in today’s landscape.

From the very beginning, **Hazelight Studios** has gone against the grain by choosing to focus on narrative-driven experiences designed exclusively for two players. Initially, this idea was deemed risky and commercially questionable, yet it proved successful. Their debut title, **A Way Out**, released in 2018, sold 12 million copies, while the 2021 release **It Takes Two** achieved an astonishing 27 million sales.

Last year, **Hazelight** launched **Split Fiction**, another cooperative game without a single-player mode, which confidently reached four million in sales within two months.

**Josef Fares** is not a businessman and does not aspire to become one. Financial and management responsibilities at **Hazelight** are primarily handled by the studio’s COO, **Oskar Wolontis**. Fares is dedicated to the creative side of things but emphasizes that a balance between commerce and creative ideas is crucial for developing quality games.

As an illustrative example, he mentions the «Friendly Access» system, which allows two players to enjoy **Hazelight’s** games over the internet, even if only one copy has been purchased. According to Fares, this idea stemmed from a sense of unfairness: if people can play together on a couch without additional costs, why should online cooperation incur extra fees?

This logic felt natural to him, and the team implemented the system not for profit but for ethical and creative reasons. It later turned out that this approach was also commercially beneficial, broadening the audience and boosting sales.

That’s why Fares is firmly against **Hazelight** going public. He believes that public companies are compelled to make decisions that enhance financial reports but may detract from the quality of games. He is uncomfortable with this financial focus and does not want business logic to dictate the studio’s project choices.

Since its inception, **Hazelight** has closely collaborated with **Electronic Arts**, which has published all three of the studio’s games. However, Fares feels that the perception of **EA** as a «corporate villain» is largely unfair and exaggerated.

Overall, Fares views the future of the industry optimistically, yet he is wary of publishers’ tendencies to chase after the latest successful formats. Following the success of **Clair Obscur: Expedition 33**, there has been increasing chatter about AA projects supposedly setting the new standard. In his view, this presents a risk: publishers might conclude that only such games should be developed, completely abandoning other project scopes and methodologies.

Fares emphasizes that he cannot envision the industry without blockbuster games. He believes it is essential for large AAA titles to be released, as they provide unique experiences that cannot be replicated with smaller budgets. He points to **GTA** as an example of a project that is simply unfeasible with a budget of around 10 million dollars.

Nonetheless, Fares asserts that the industry needs all formats simultaneously: AA, AAA, and indie games. Focusing on just one idea can be dangerous, as diversity is key to development. Fares reminds that many AA games released in 2025 went largely unnoticed despite the overall excitement surrounding the format.

Fares acknowledges that the higher the budget, the greater the fear of making mistakes becomes: when over 100 million dollars are at stake, developers and publishers tend to act more cautiously. While this is understandable, he insists that a large budget does not preclude bold ideas.

He believes that studios like **Naughty Dog**, **Rockstar**, and **Nintendo** regularly demonstrate the opposite by creating large-scale AAA games while still pushing boundaries and experimenting, thereby advancing the industry. In Fares’ opinion, these examples show that even within larger budgets, taking creative risks is both possible and necessary.

**Hazelight Studios** consistently embraces risks, but the goal is not to create chaos but to harness courage to produce something fresh and high-quality. Fares expresses that if the team is afraid of making mistakes or is too restricted, it can hurt the game. Regardless of budget, the studio always seeks to explore new ideas and expand its horizons.

Fares emphasizes that risk comes with responsibility. Developers must meet deadlines, fulfill their tasks, and create a product that they and the studio can be proud of. The money invested by stakeholders and employees requires a serious approach—one cannot simply experiment without oversight.

To truly break the mold, he believes, it is essential to awaken the «creative monster» within each team member.

**Josef Fares** remains an optimist. He admits that the gaming industry is complex, but points out that developers are progressively honing their understanding of how to create genuinely outstanding projects.

As for the ever-popular topic of artificial intelligence, he sees it as a tool rather than a human replacement. Fares notes that the **Hazelight** team has been using AI in their development for a while, but generative technologies raise questions. While they can aid in bringing concepts to life, they are not yet capable of replacing an author’s vision.

Fares uses **Midjourney** as an example: the tool was impressive upon its debut, but over five years, the progress has been quite modest. It’s possible that this could be the current limit of the technology’s capabilities. Even if someone generates a game concept, a person with a clear vision for the project is still necessary. The developer doubts that AI will ever fully replace developers but acknowledges the difficulty in predicting the future.

**Hazelight** thrives within its own ecosystem. The studio’s games are so successful that the developers hardly worry about outcomes. The company employs around 80 people and doesn’t plan to expand the team significantly.

When asked about future objectives, Fares points out that the gaming industry is still very young compared to cinema: films have been around for over a century, while video games began to evolve only in the 1970s and 1980s. There remains vast potential in the gaming sphere to explore new storytelling techniques, invent unique mechanics, and uncover new genres and methodologies for creating digital entertainment.

Fares believes that cooperative gameplay will always be part of **Hazelight’s** DNA, as the studio is currently the strongest in this area worldwide. The team is already hard at work on their next game. Fares states that having a clear concept alleviates pressure: when there’s a strong vision and faith in it, everything else becomes secondary. He is confident that the next project will surpass **Split Fiction**.