# Hazelight Studios
**Hazelight Studios** is an independent video game development studio based in Stockholm, Sweden, founded in 2014 by the film director and game designer [Josef Fares](https://www.edgepedia.org/josef-fares). It builds exclusively cooperative, story-driven games designed for two players, always presented in split screen, and its releases A Way Out (2018), [It Takes Two](https://www.edgepedia.org/it-takes-two-video-game) (2021), and [Split Fiction](https://www.edgepedia.org/split-fiction) (2025) have together sold more than 50 million copies.[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) • [2](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2014, by Josef Fares, film director and creator of Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons; based in Stockholm, Sweden[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) |
| First release | A Way Out (2018), described as the first-ever co-op-only third-person action-adventure, released under EA's EA Originals program[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) |
| Signature game | It Takes Two (2021), winner of Game of the Year 2021 at The Game Awards; about 30 million copies sold[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) • [2](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/) |
| Latest release | Split Fiction (2025), made with Unreal Engine 5; about 7 million copies sold and Best International Game at the 2025 German Computer Game Awards[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) • [2](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/) • [3](https://deutscher-computerspielpreis.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/250514_DCP25_Gewinner_ENG_FINAL.docx-1.pdf) |
| Design rule | Every game is playable only in co-op, with two players sharing a split screen; there is no single-player option[4](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/split-fiction-amazon-prime-day-july-2025) • [5](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/it-takes-two-game/) |
| Cumulative sales | More than 50 million copies across the studio's first three games, announced April 2026[2](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/) |
## Origin and founder
Josef Fares, a Swedish-Lebanese director who fled the [Lebanese Civil War](https://www.edgepedia.org/lebanese-civil-war) to Sweden as a child, worked in film before turning to games. His directorial debut in the medium was *Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons* (2013), a cooperative adventure that drew wide critical attention.[6](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/josef-fares-revisits-it-takes-two-i-still-think-to-myself-this-is-a-fing-good-game/) In 2014, with the support of [Electronic Arts](https://www.edgepedia.org/electronic-arts), he founded Hazelight Studios in Stockholm.[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) • [7](https://www.famitsu.com/news/202103/25216508.html)
Fares has described the studio's purpose in pointed terms: in his account, Hazelight is the only studio in the world focusing on co-op-only story games, designing two distinct characters with different personalities and mechanics from the start rather than adding a co-op mode to a single-player game.[8](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/it-takes-two-lovingly-marries-story-and-gameplay-together?lang=en)
## A Way Out (2018)
The studio's first game, announced in partnership with EA as a new EA Originals title, was *A Way Out*, a prison-escape drama released digitally in early 2018 on PC, Xbox One, and [PlayStation 4](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-4).[9](https://s204.q4cdn.com/701424631/files/doc_news/2017/06/1/1029798.pdf) It established the studio's template: mandatory two-player cooperation, constant split screen, and a narrative in which gameplay follows the story, so that when the characters find a boat, the players ride it, and when they find a car, they drive it.[8](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/it-takes-two-lovingly-marries-story-and-gameplay-together?lang=en) Reviewers later characterized it as the foundation of what was to come for Hazelight rather than a critical smash on the level of its successor.[6](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/josef-fares-revisits-it-takes-two-i-still-think-to-myself-this-is-a-fing-good-game/)
## It Takes Two (2021)
*It Takes Two*, published by Electronic Arts under the EA Originals label, is a split-screen platform action-adventure built purely for co-op, released in March 2021 for [PlayStation 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/playstation-5), PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.[10](https://facewaretech.com/blog/interview-hazelight-studios-talks-facial-animation-on-it-takes-two/) • [7](https://www.famitsu.com/news/202103/25216508.html) It tells the story of Cody and May, a couple on the verge of divorce who are turned into dolls and must work together to return to normal, with the game's stated theme being collaboration.[6](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/josef-fares-revisits-it-takes-two-i-still-think-to-myself-this-is-a-fing-good-game/) • [1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction)
**Development scale and method.** Fares said the team numbered around 60 people and that the game took about two-and-a-half to three years to develop.[8](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/it-takes-two-lovingly-marries-story-and-gameplay-together?lang=en) The design approach ties mechanics to narrative: whatever happens in the story is what the player plays, with each of the game's chapters discarding its mechanics and replacing them with something new.[8](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/it-takes-two-lovingly-marries-story-and-gameplay-together?lang=en) • [11](https://spawningpoint.com/article/it-takes-two-review-2026)
**Split-screen engineering.** Because everything is rendered twice in split screen, the game imposes unusual technical constraints; Fares noted that many people forget this when judging how well the game runs, including on the [Nintendo Switch](https://www.edgepedia.org/nintendo-switch) port released November 4, 2022.[6](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/josef-fares-revisits-it-takes-two-i-still-think-to-myself-this-is-a-fing-good-game/) The audio team likewise had to design and mix sound so that both players' halves of the screen remained clear and immersive, finding no existing split-screen game that met the standards they aimed for and following their own intuitions instead.[12](https://www.asoundeffect.com/it-takes-two-game-audio-score/)
**Reception.** The game won Game of the Year 2021 at [The Game Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-game-awards)[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) and had sold 7 million copies as of July 2022, a figure Fares attributed partly to how few great co-op games exist and to the fact that his games cannot be played alone.[6](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/josef-fares-revisits-it-takes-two-i-still-think-to-myself-this-is-a-fing-good-game/) A Friend's Pass lets one owner of the full game play the whole adventure with a friend for free online or on the couch.[13](https://www.ea.com/games/it-takes-two/about)
## Split Fiction (2025)
*Split Fiction*, the studio's fourth announced project and third released game, was made with [Unreal Engine 5](https://www.edgepedia.org/unreal-engine-5). Its premise places two authors, Zoe and Mio, inside a virtual world inspired by their own work, with Mio writing science fiction and Zoe writing fantasy, so the game jumps between the two genres.[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) Fares framed the theme as friendship, built around two complete strangers learning to share the weight they each carry.[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction)
The studio chose Unreal Engine 5 for its stability and industry-wide familiarity, which eased onboarding and outsourcing, and built extensive custom technology on top of it, including a scripting language and a heavily customized Sequencer supporting split screen and seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes.[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction) Lead programmer Jonas Mauritzsson identified networking as a persistent challenge, since usual shortcuts fail when each player can see the other's screen, alongside the graphics cost of rendering both players' views at once.[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction)
The game received four nominations at the Game Awards[14](https://omni.se/josef-fares-spelforetag-far-regeringens-exportpris/a/7pmaVo) and won Best International Game at the 2025 German Computer Game Awards.[3](https://deutscher-computerspielpreis.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/250514_DCP25_Gewinner_ENG_FINAL.docx-1.pdf)
## Commercial performance and recognition
In April 2026 Hazelight announced that its three released games had sold more than 50 million copies combined: A Way Out at 13 million, It Takes Two at 30 million, and Split Fiction at 7 million.[2](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/) The studio and Fares received the Swedish government's export prize for the cultural and creative industries for 2025, presented at the Nationalmuseum in Stockholm.[14](https://omni.se/josef-fares-spelforetag-far-regeringens-exportpris/a/7pmaVo)
**A fourth game is in development.** Fares has confirmed that Hazelight's next game is officially in development, with work reported to have begun in early 2025, before Split Fiction's release.[2](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/)
## Design identity
Three commitments run through all of Hazelight's games. First, co-op is mandatory: there is no single-player option, and success requires two players working together, locally or online.[5](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/it-takes-two-game/) • [4](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/split-fiction-amazon-prime-day-july-2025) Second, split screen is constant, with each player controlling one character on their own half of the screen, occasionally merging into a single view.[15](https://as.com/meristation/reportajes/impresiones-de-split-fiction-ya-hemos-jugado-al-sucesor-del-goty-2021-y-es-tan-bueno-como-it-takes-two-r/) Third, gameplay variety is tied to story: each game assigns itself a theme, sorrow for Brothers, trust for A Way Out, collaboration for It Takes Two, friendship for Split Fiction, and changes mechanics as the narrative demands rather than settling on one gameplay loop.[1](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction)
Fares has said the studio deliberately does not follow the market or current trends, and that the team became much braver after It Takes Two in its writing and design.[16](https://www.gamereactor.eu/split-fiction-11-questions-with-josef-fares-1507973/)
## References
1. [Sci-fi and fantasy worlds collide in UE5-powered co-op adventure Split Fiction, Unreal Engine](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/sci-fi-and-fantasy-worlds-collide-in-ue5-powered-co-op-adventure-split-fiction)
2. [Split Fiction studio Hazelight celebrates selling 50 million games in under 10 years, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/action/split-fiction-studio-hazelight-celebrates-selling-50-million-games-in-under-10-years/)
3. [Deutscher Computerspielpreis 2025 winners](https://deutscher-computerspielpreis.de/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/250514_DCP25_Gewinner_ENG_FINAL.docx-1.pdf)
4. [Split Fiction Amazon Prime Day sale, Windows Central](https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/split-fiction-amazon-prime-day-july-2025)
5. [It Takes Two review, Video Games Chronicle](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/review/it-takes-two-game/)
6. [Josef Fares revisits It Takes Two, Video Games Chronicle](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/josef-fares-revisits-it-takes-two-i-still-think-to-myself-this-is-a-fing-good-game/)
7. [Famitsu interview with Josef Fares on It Takes Two](https://www.famitsu.com/news/202103/25216508.html)
8. [It Takes Two lovingly marries story and gameplay together, Unreal Engine](https://www.unrealengine.com/developer-interviews/it-takes-two-lovingly-marries-story-and-gameplay-together?lang=en)
9. [EA and Hazelight announce A Way Out, June 10, 2017 press release](https://s204.q4cdn.com/701424631/files/doc_news/2017/06/1/1029798.pdf)
10. [Interview: Hazelight Studios Talks Facial Animation on It Takes Two, Faceware Technologies](https://facewaretech.com/blog/interview-hazelight-studios-talks-facial-animation-on-it-takes-two/)
11. [It Takes Two Review 2026, Spawning Point](https://spawningpoint.com/article/it-takes-two-review-2026)
12. [Co-Oping on the Game Sound and Score for It Takes Two, A Sound Effect](https://www.asoundeffect.com/it-takes-two-game-audio-score/)
13. [It Takes Two Features, Electronic Arts](https://www.ea.com/games/it-takes-two/about)
14. [Josef Fares spelföretag får regeringens exportpris, Omni](https://omni.se/josef-fares-spelforetag-far-regeringens-exportpris/a/7pmaVo)
15. [Impresiones de Split Fiction, MeriStation](https://as.com/meristation/reportajes/impresiones-de-split-fiction-ya-hemos-jugado-al-sucesor-del-goty-2021-y-es-tan-bueno-como-it-takes-two-r/)
16. [Split Fiction Interview: 11 questions with Josef Fares, Gamereactor](https://www.gamereactor.eu/split-fiction-11-questions-with-josef-fares-1507973/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Video games and digital play › Game industry › Developers and studios › Individual studio profiles › European studios*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license