Amid all of the big and exciting announcements that streamed out of The Game Awards 2024, it is no surprise that Hazelight Studios‘ next game is cutting through the noise, in part thanks to founder Josef Fares’ continued ability to capture an audience. Split Fiction is positioned as an action-adventure game that will push the boundaries of the co-op genre further than ever, launching on March 6 under the EA Originals label.
This unique co-op action-adventure split-screen game will see players jump between sci-fi and fantasy worlds. With a wide range of ever-changing abilities, players will take on the roles of Mio and Zoe as they work together to take back their creative legacies and discover the power of an unexpected friendship.
“At Hazelight, we’ve been building co-op games for 10 years, and with every game we push beyond what players expect for action-adventure co-op games. I’m so proud of what we have built with Split Fiction. Let me tell you guys, it’s going to blow your mind,” said Fares. “Because Mio and Zoe jump back and forth between sci-fi and fantasy worlds we’ve been able to do some really wild things with gameplay and storytelling. This is definitely our most epic co-op adventure yet.”
Mio and Zoe are contrasting writers, one of sci-fi and the other of fantasy, who become trapped in their own stories after being hooked up to a machine designed to steal their creative ideas. Jumping back and forth between worlds, they’ll have to work together and master a variety of abilities in order to break free with their memories intact.
Some of the scenarios shared include attempting to escape a sun that’s going supernova, challenging a monkey to a dance battle, trying out some cool hoverboard tricks, fighting an evil kitty and riding everything from gravity bikes to a sand shark. With worlds that are entirely different from each other, surprising challenges await players at every turn.
If Split Fiction boasts the excellent gameplay mechanics and storytelling of It Takes Two or even goes beyond, then Hazelight could have another Game-of-the-Year contender early on.
“Friendships and great memories are made through playing amazing co-op games together – and no one does it better than Hazelight,” said Jeff Gamon, general manager of EA Partners. “We’re excited to continue our long-term partnership with Josef and his talented team to bring another innovative, collaborative adventure to life; one that continues to push the boundaries and redefine what players can experience together on and off the screen.”
Split Fiction also brings back the Friend’s Pass, which allows one player who owns the game to invite a friend to play for free, made even better with crossplay options enabled for PlayStation, Xbox and PC.
Split Fiction releases on March 6, 2025 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store and the EA app.
