Split Fiction Studio Does Not “Pitch” Game Ideas to EA, As Publisher “Cannot Interfere” and Has “Zero Say” in What They Do
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When you think of Electronic Arts (EA), it’s usually not in a good light, and I don’t blame you. With studio acquisitions that translated to closures, a mad drive to monetize everything under the sun, and a CEO who seems slightly out of touch with the gaming community, I’d say the hate is often warranted.
This makes Split Fiction’s success all the more surprising, given that it doesn’t have microtransactions, DLC plans, live service elements, or anything that gets EA executives giddy at the thought of more revenue after the initial purchase.
As it turns out, it’s due to Hazelight having complete creative freedom with their games.
Hazelight Studios Boss Sets the Score on EA’s Involvement in Split Fiction and Their Other Projects
Hazelight boss Jose Fares recently spoke in the Friends Per Second podcast where he confirmed the next game from the studio is already on the way, and also talked a bit about EA as well. Correcting YouTuber SkillUp when it was mentioned they had to pitch Split Fiction’s idea to EA, Fares said, “No no, no, we don’t pitch to EA.”
Explaining further, Fares said, “Here’s the thing people don’t understand, EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them, we say we’re going to do this, and that’s it. They have zero — and I mean zero — thing to say what we’re doing next. With that said, I have to say they’re a good partner. Nobody believes me because whatever I say. They’re like “yeah ,yeah, it’s EA.” Look, I don’t know anything about what EA is doing to us, maybe they’re f**king up with other developers, with us, no. They respect us, they respect what we do, and I mean, I am very clear with them that they cannot interfere with what we do from that perspective. I mean now we have become one of their most successful Studios,but no, we don’t pitch. We just say ‘this is what we’re doing’.” you know, I mean I have never pitched a game.”
This is surprising news to hear, given A Way Out and It Takes Two were also published by EA. Who’d have thought that these projects — along with Split Fiction — were games that never even needed the greenlight from EA to be made. Perhaps that’s the secret to their success? No corporate overlord dictating what to put in and take out. I’m no corporate bigwig, but shouldn’t EA see Hazelight’s success and their lack of input, and put two and two together?
So far, Split Fiction has sold over two million units and established a new Steam record for a premium EA title. While Fares confirmed they are working on a new game, no specifics about it have been revealed yet. Given the studio’s past games, we’re expecting it to be another bang-up game
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Yeah, I guess the rest of us are just crazy and halucinating the last 35 years of EA history where they’ve forced themselves into acquired companies and destroyed countless beloved studios and buried countless beloved IP’s. I’m sure the former Bioware employees love this clowns comment. This guy might have made a couple good games, but he truly is a moron when it comes to his stance on EA.
This is the worst phrased headline I’ve ever seen, suggesting the exact opposite of what its trying to say