adminHazelight going public is not part of founder and CEO Josef Fares’ plans. He says he wants the studio’s decisions to focus on making strong games rather than responding to pressure to raise its share price. His comments also highlight how creative choices and commercial success can support one another when a studio balances both priorities.
Image credit: Hazelight
Why Fares rules out Hazelight going public
Fares has said he will not list Hazelight on the stock market. In his view, a publicly traded company may face pressure to prioritize financial performance in ways that do not necessarily serve its games. He is concerned that this could shift decision-making too far toward business metrics and away from the creative work.
That does not mean he considers business planning unimportant. Fares describes the goal as keeping commercial needs and creative judgment in balance. For players, that distinction matters: a studio’s business model can affect choices such as how people access a game, while creative priorities shape the experience itself.
The Friend Pass as a creative and commercial choice
Fares points to Hazelight’s Friend Pass as an example of those priorities working together. The feature lets two people play a Hazelight game online when only one of them owns it. The idea came from the studio’s view that playing online with another person should not require an extra purchase when local co-op is available.
The feature began as a design decision and also became a business consideration. It can make it easier for friends to try a co-op game together, while still requiring one player to own the title. When comparing co-op games, players may want to check whether a similar access option is available and what each participant needs to play.
Why the game industry needs different scales of games
Fares also cautioned against treating the success of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 as proof that mid-tier, or AA, games should replace other types of releases. He said he values blockbuster games too, and argued that the industry needs a range of projects rather than a single dominant model.
His point is that one successful title does not guarantee that every game with a similar budget or scope will succeed. Large productions and smaller-scale releases have different costs, ambitions, and audiences. Variety gives players more kinds of experiences to choose from and allows studios to pursue different creative approaches.
Hazelight’s recent release
Hazelight released the co-op game Split Fiction in March 2025. It sold one million copies within 48 hours and reached two million units in its first week. Those figures provide context for the studio’s commercial performance, while Fares’ comments make clear that he wants creative considerations to remain central to its decisions.
What Fares’ position means for Hazelight
Fares’ stance on Hazelight going public reflects his preference for making decisions around the games rather than stock-market expectations. His examples also suggest that creative and commercial goals do not always have to conflict: a feature designed to improve co-op access can also make a game more appealing to potential players. For Hazelight, he says, maintaining that balance is more important than pursuing one business model or trend.
