What makes the level particularly interesting is the fact that a video plays at the end featuring game director Josef Fares. In the video, Fares congratulates the players on completing the level, going as far as to say that only a few members of the development team were able to complete it.

“Wow, amazing,” says Fares in the video. “You have to understand that there are barely people on our team that can make it. It took us a lot of time to finish it. And I’m telling you that this is a crazy, crazy achievement that you have done.”

Fares also goes on to tell people that might be watching this post-level video through YouTube to go play the game instead in order to really understand how challenging the level is. He caps the message off by saying that, if the players can prove that they finished the video, they will be personally invited to Sweden to take a look at the next game that is currently in development at Hazelight.

“And I’m not talking to you guys who are looking at this on YouTube. If you see this on YouTube, you should go to the game,” Fares continues. “It’s a really hard challenge. But for those of you who are actually in the game seeing this video, I am super amazed.”

“I’m going to say one thing. If you see me in real life, somewhere, and you can prove to me that you actually did this challenge, I can promise you, the first one to do that, I’m going to fly you to Sweden and show you footage of our next game.”

Fares has since also mentioned that he will be keeping this promise through a post on social media platform X, once again congratulating the two players in the process.

“Congrats to ‘sharkOvO’ and ‘E1uM4y’ for finishing the secret challenge ‘Laser Hell’ in Split Fiction,” posted Fares on X. “VERY impressive! I will keep my promise and invite you both to Sweden for an early look of our next game. We’ll be in touch!”

Split Fiction is a co-op game that was recently released on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The game was incredibly successful, selling a million copies in its first 48 hours, and then going to sell 2 million copies in its first week. For more details about the title, check out our review.

Fares has also revealed that the studio has started working on its next game in the wake of Split Fiction‘s release. On a podcast, Fares said that he was “super, super excited.” No other details about this next title have been revealed so far, but going by Hazelight’s history, it might also be a co-op game.

Congrats to ”sharkOvO” and ”E1uM4y” for finishing the secret challenge ”Laser Hell” in #splitficton. VERY impressive! I will keep my promise and invite you both to Sweden for an early look of our next game😎

We´ll be in touch!

— Josef Fares (@josef_fares) March 19, 2025

Split Fiction revolves around Mio and Zoe, two unpublished authors trapped in a simulation. Working together to survive, they traverse each others’ worlds, from sci-fi to fantasy, resulting in various co-op scenarios with different gameplay mechanics. Director Josef Fares estimates 12 to 14 hours to complete the main story, though there’s plenty of side content to plow through.

While the budget is almost double that of It Takes Two, Split Fiction has been a much bigger success. It sold two million copies in its first week and became Electronic Arts’ second-biggest launch on Steam ever. If that wasn’t enough, it’s the first title from the publisher to achieve a 90+ Metascore in 13 years.

A couple other new releases rank in the top 10 as well. Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars takes the No. 4 spot, while Two Point Museum comes in at No. 9. Meanwhile, Monster Hunter Wilds, which was unsurprisingly the top selling game the week prior, has now dropped down to No. 2. 

The evergreen Mario Kart 8 Deluxe continues to sell well, taking the No. 5 spot, while fellow first-party Switch title Super Mario Party Jamboree brings up the list’s rear at No. 10. There’s also PGA Tour 2K25 and Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 at No. 7 and No. 8 respectively. You can check out the full top 10 for the week ending March 8 below.

Given that context alone, it’s not a huge surprise that Split Fiction is taking off the way it is. Hazelight Studios and EA recently released their third big co-op adventure, one that promises yet more of what the developer has by now become synonymous with in terms of co-op gameplay, but bigger and better than ever before. Excitement for Split Fiction had hit a fever pitch in the short span between its December 2024 announcement and early March 2025 release, and that excitement has been reflected in not only near-universal acclaim (with a Metacritic score of 91), but also impressive player numbers. Over its launch weekend, for instance, the game saw a peak of over 259,000 concurrent players on Steam, close to four times as high as the all-time high of It Takes Two. 

Clearly, then, the masses have taken to Split Fiction just as strongly as the critics have. What exactly is it, however, about the game that has struck such a chord with so many people? Releasing in the middle of a particularly busy period that has seen several other notable launches, from Monster Hunter Wilds and Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii to the imminent Assassin’s Creed Shadows and more, how is it that this co-op experience that actively eschews so many of AAA gaming’s most commercialized tendencies is selling as well as anything any publisher in the industry could hope for?

Obviously, reasons one through ten are- it’s a really good game, as the ridiculously positive reviews and eye-wateringly high review scores may have given away. Of course, quality is what is expected of Hazelight Studios at this point, given the excellent track record the studio boasts, and the acclaim, accolades and recognition that the studio has earned as a result. Living up to a reputation is often easier said than done for many in the games industry, however, so it absolutely should not be taken for granted that Hazelight not only keeps meeting expectations, but even surpassing them, with each new game building and improving on already excellent foundations.

That’s exactly what Split Fiction has done as well- at least in some really crucial ways, even if the game is not without issues. Much like past Hazelight titles, Split Fiction has its deficiencies in the storytelling department. The characters are more bundles of tropes than actual, nuanced personalities, the dialogue interactions are often dragged down by clunky dialogue and painfully cookie-cutter cliches, the plot itself often tends to move in highly predictable ways. Personally, I think Split Fiction is definitely an improvement over It Takes Two at least, where I actively disliked pretty much every major character and plot development, but at best, it has gone from grating to serviceable. At best. Narratively, Hazelight still has a lot of growing to do.

But many have found those issues rather easy to ignore purely on the back of the game’s gameplay and design strengths, and honestly, it’s easy to see why. You’d think that games directed by an ex-film director would be better at storytelling than they would be at game design, but just as it was with It Takes Two, the opposite is true of Split Fiction. Hazelight’s newest action-platformer is an absolute blast to play, and from the first second to the last, it delivers spectacularly creative and varied gameplay moments. Perfectly paced, a constant joy to play, and boasting more variety in a single level than most games have across their entire runtimes, Split Fiction is a game design joyride the likes of which we don’t see too often. That it’s seeing widespread success and acclaim on the back of those strengths first and foremost isn’t surprising to see.

A high-speed bike chase with enough explosions to put Michael Bay to shame, thrilling platforming sequences in the middle of dense traffic in a futuristic cyberpunk city, riotously fun boss fights, a hilarious one-off sequence where you play as pigs (and, eventually, sausages), a set-piece where you ride through a sea of sand on the back of giant sand sharks, and so, so much more- all of this happens just in the first couple of hours of Split Fiction, and it doesn’t slow down beyond that point. This is a game that prides itself on its long list of ideas- a multitude of mechanics, locations, premises, set-piece sequences, each fully fleshed out and polished.

And once it has done something, it just moves on to the next thing, which just highlights the value of its unwillingness to stay still and get comfortable in its skin that much more. It’s a special game that not only has that kind of ambition, but is also capable of actually making good on those promises. The level of mechanical polish and thoughtfulness in design that Split Fiction boasts across the board may be easy to take for granted given the developer’s prestige, but it cannot be overstated just how impressive of an accomplishment it is. Three games in, Hazelight Studios doesn’t seem to be running of ideas or creativity by any stretch of the imagination, and on the contrary, is still delivering co-op gameplay unlike anything else we’ve ever seen.

It’s also worth highlighting how consumer-friendly Split Fiction is in so many ways, which you wouldn’t ordinarily expect from a game being published by Electronic Arts. The flag-bearer of Hazelight’s popular practices has long been the Friend’s Pass, which has unsurprisingly made a return with Split Fiction, once again allowing two players to play the game with just a single purchase. What’s more, this time around, the Friend’s Pass also supports cross-play, which means you can buy a copy on, say, PlayStation, and get a friend on Xbox or Steam to play with you by just inviting them to your game, as long as you’re both signed in with a connected EA account. It works exactly as smoothly and easily as it should, too, and that lack of friction is doubtless going to attract plenty of players. And let’s not forget the fact that this is a $50 game, which might be costlier than any of Hazelight’s previous titles, but is a notably cheaper price point than the vast majority of modern major releases, especially in the AAA space.

After having impressed the industry at large with progressively improved landmark co-op gameplay experiences in the form of A Way Out and It Takes Two, Hazelight Studios has now delivered what feels like the ultimate realization of its unique brand of co-op with Split Fiction, so to see the game getting the widespread praise and recognition that it so clearly deserves is heartening to see, to say the very least. Where the studio will go from here will be interesting to see, but in the here and now, Split Fiction deserves a tip of the hat, and then some.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Several days after launch, the co-op action-adventure title is still seeing impressive numbers, with nearly 240,000 peak concurrent players in the past 24 hours on Steam. Also available for Xbox Series X/S and PS5, the story is about two unpublished authors, Mio and Zoe, who traverse science fiction and fantasy worlds in a dangerous simulation.

To survive and escape, they must rely on each other, venturing through cyberpunk locations with mechs, gravity manipulation and motorcycles. Alternatively, they may venture through fantasy environments, fighting – and piloting – dragons. They could also become pigs and…well, you’ll have to find out for yourself. Check out our review for more details.

It’s already more than tripled the peak concurrent count for It Takes Two, the developer’s last co-op smash hit, but that’s not all. Split Fiction actually has the second-highest player count for an Electronic Arts-published game on Steam, beating the likes of EA Sports FC 25, Battlefield 5 and more, falling only behind Apex Legends. Considering the latter is free-to-play, that’s pretty impressive.

Neither Hazelight nor EA have confirmed sales numbers for the title, so stay tuned for updates in the coming days. Alongside PC, Split Fiction is available for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The story is about 12 to 14 hours long and the Friend’s Pass lets those who own the game invite a friend to play for free.

Check out our review – we gave it a seven out of ten, praising the gameplay and variety while criticizing the story-telling, characters and writing.

Speaking recently with Washington Post, Hazelight boss Josef Fares revealed that It Takes Two has now sold over 23 million units worldwide, while the studio’s debut title, 2018’s A Way Out, currently sits at 11 million units sold.

Both games have seen notable bumps from their previously reported figures. It Takes Two had sold 20 million units as of last October, so clearly, the co-op platform enjoyed another bump in sales amidst the hype surrounding Split Fiction. Meanwhile, A Way Out was reported to have hit 9 million units sold last June.

Split Fiction also seems to have enjoyed a flying start. Though EA and Hazelight have yet to announce any official numbers, the game peaked at over 197,000 concurrent players on Steam following launch, more than twice the all-time peak for It Takes Two. Read our review of the newly-released co-op title through here.

As per SteamDB, Split Fiction hit an impressive peak of 197,434 concurrent players on Steam on Friday, the day after its release. That’s more than twice the all-time concurrent player count peak for the aforementioned It Takes Two (which sits at 71,039 players). It should be interesting to see whether the action-adventure title continues to see increasing numbers over the course of its launch weekend, as often tends to be the case with major releases.

In our review of Split Fiction, we gave the game a score of 7/10, praising its gameplay variety, puzzle design, and side content, but reserving criticism for the storytelling and writing. Read the full review through here.

Split Fiction is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

They’ll need to work together and traverse different worlds inspired by their works. The twist is that Mio is a science-fiction author – her worlds involve cyberpunk landscapes and space. Meanwhile, Zoe focuses on fantasy with dragons, fairies, and more whimsical elements coming into play. Depending on the world, the duo receives different powers, leading to all kinds of gameplay variety.

With almost twice the budget of It Takes Two, Split Fiction’s story is touted as lasting 12 to 14 hours. Side Stories increase the total further, offering optional scenarios and worlds to explore. Check out our review for more details.

You can also learn more about the Friend’s Pass, which grants access for two players if one owns the game, regardless of platform, with cross-play support.

The developer has also revealed the global launch timings for the co-op adventure title. It goes live at 8 AM PST/11 AM EST on March 6th, translating to March 7th for regions like Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Tokyo and Sydney.

Split Fiction will be available for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. The story focuses on Mio and Zoe, two aspiring writers who enter a simulation. After various circumstances, they’re forced to cooperate if they want to escape. They’ll explore worlds based on their preferred genres – sci-fi for Mio and fantasy for Zoe – but there are also optional Side Stories that veer in unexpected directions.

Director Josef Fares touts a 12 to 14-hour runtime for Split Fiction’s story, with the side content extending it even more. If you’re playing online co-op, only one copy is necessary – the Friend’s Pass allows another person to play for free. Head here for more details.