In the ever-evolving world of gaming, Split Fiction continues to captivate players with its innovative challenges and rewarding experiences. The latest buzz around the game centers on the "Laser Hell" secret stage, a notoriously difficult level that has recently been conquered by a duo of skilled streamers, earning them an exclusive trip to Hazelight Studios.
First Players to Finish "Laser Hell" Challenge Earn a Trip to Hazelight Studios
Following its successful launch last month, Split Fiction has continued to surprise and engage its player base with hidden challenges. The "Laser Hell" stage, accessible through a specific sequence of switch presses on the elevator in the Isolation level, proved to be a formidable test. Chinese streamers sharkOvO and E1uM4y rose to the occasion, showcasing their triumphant completion on the streaming platform BiliBili.
Upon completing the challenge, the streamers unlocked a special video message from Hazelight Founder Josef Fares. In the video, Fares congratulated the duo on their achievement, noting that even most of the game's developers struggled with the level. He then extended an invitation for them to visit Hazelight Studios in Sweden for an early look at the studio's next game. Fares reaffirmed his promise on Twitter (X) on March 19, stating, "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 on The Friends Per Second podcast on March 17, Josef Fares discussed Hazelight's relationship with its publisher EA and hinted at the studio's next project. Fares expressed that while every game release feels like a milestone, Split Fiction has been particularly well-received. "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,'" he explained. "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."
Despite his excitement, Fares remained tight-lipped about the details of their current project, citing its early stage. "There is a reason why I can't talk about the next game; it's because it's quite early," he said. "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 Hazelight's relationship with EA, Fares emphasized the publisher's supportive role. "Here's the thing, people don't understand this: EA is a supporter. We don't pitch games to them," he stated. "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." Fares praised EA for respecting Hazelight's creative autonomy, despite any negative perceptions about the publisher. "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-identified issues. The update included fixes for in-game mechanics, minor glitches during online play, and improvements in localization and subtitles across all languages.
Additionally, Split Fiction has achieved a remarkable milestone by selling over 2 million copies within just one week of its release. This achievement is especially noteworthy when compared to Hazelight's previous success, It Takes Two, which sold 1 million copies a few weeks after its launch and reached 20 million by October 2024.
Split Fiction is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. To stay updated with the latest news and developments about the game, be sure to check out our article below!
