Split Fiction Continues With More Surprises
First Players to Finish "Laser Hell" Challenge Earn a Trip to Hazelight Studios
Split Fiction has been a smashing hit since its launch last month, and the surprises just keep coming as players uncover the secret "Laser Hell" stage. This challenging level, though daunting, was conquered by the talented Chinese streamers sharkOvO and E1uM4y. Their triumph was captured in a video on BiliBili, showing them navigating a specific sequence of switches in the Isolation level's elevator to access the laser-filled platform stage.
Upon completing the challenge, the duo unlocked a special congratulatory message from Hazelight Founder Josef Fares, who revealed that even most of his own team struggled with the level. Fares extended an invitation for the streamers to visit Hazelight Studios in Sweden. True to his word, Fares tweeted on March 19, "Congrats to 'sharkOvO' and 'E1uM4y' for finishing the secret challenge 'Laser Hell' in #splitfiction. VERY impressive! I will keep my promise and invite you both to Sweden for an early look at our next game. We'll be in touch!"
Hazelight Studios Working On Its Next Game
In a recent interview with The Friends Per Second podcast on March 17, Josef Fares discussed Hazelight's relationship with publisher EA and provided a glimpse into their next project. Fares noted that the release of Split Fiction marked a unique milestone for him, saying, "For me, personally, every time a game is out, I’m kind of done with it. I’m kind of like, ‘OK, here’s the next thing.’ This has been a bit extra special. I would say that it’s been the best-received game we have done, but to be honest, everybody is super happy, but I’m so fully-focused and excited on the next thing that we already have started."
While Fares was tight-lipped about the specifics of their new game, he did mention that they are in the early stages of development. "There is a reason why I can’t talk about the next game; it’s because it’s quite early," he explained. "You do know, at Hazelight, we don’t work on [a] game more than three or four years. Three or four years is not so far away. Then we’re going to talk more about it. It’s way too early, but just know this: we are very, very, very, very excited here. Very excited, and we started working on this a month ago-ish."
Regarding their relationship with EA, Fares praised the publisher's support, stating, "Here’s the thing, people don’t understand this: EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them. We say, ‘We’re going to do this.’ That’s it. They have zero, and I mean zero, thing to say about what we’re doing next." He emphasized that despite mixed feelings about EA in the industry, the publisher respects Hazelight's creative freedom. "Maybe they’re f***ing up with other developers. With us, no. They respect us. They respect what we do. I’m very clear with them that they cannot interfere with what we do. Now, we have become one of their most successful studios."
First Update and Hitting 2 Million Sales in 1 Week
On March 17, Split Fiction received its first update, addressing several community-reported issues. The update tackled problems with in-game mechanics, minor online play glitches, and improved localization and subtitles across all languages.
Additionally, Split Fiction achieved a remarkable feat by selling over 2 million copies within just one week of its release. This milestone outpaces the performance of Hazelight's previous hit, It Takes Two, which sold 1 million copies a few weeks post-launch and reached 20 million by October 2024.
Split Fiction is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Stay updated with the latest news and developments by checking out our related articles below!
