EA: The “Bad Guy” Who Just Wants to be Loved
In a world where every corporation is a potential villain, Josef Fares, the mastermind behind Hazelight Studios, has stepped up to defend the misunderstood giant known as Electronic Arts. Picture this: EA, the grumpy goblin of gaming, just wants to hold hands and sing Kumbaya, but instead, it’s being chased with pitchforks. It’s tough out there in the corporate world!
A Troubling Reputation
Fares, whose studio has gifted gamers with not just one, but three delightful adventures, A Way Out, It Takes Two, and the gloriously creative Split Fiction, is tired of hearing the same old sad story about EA being painted as the bad guy. In a delightful tête-à-tête with a gaming industry mag, he was asked to spill the beans about Hazelight’s rather cozy relationship with the corporate behemoth.
Surprise! Fares maintains that their partnership is the chocolate on the popcorn, the peanut butter to the jelly. He boldly stated, “There are a lot of great people at EA,” as if he’s the heroic knight fighting off the criticism dragon. Yes, it turns out there are actual humans behind those corporate suits! And they’re gamers too! Who knew?
The Great Criticism Conspiracy
In a world where all publishers have their fair share of bloopers, Fares mused that EA might get more hate than it deserves. “I mean, come on,” he said, clearly exasperated by the whole situation. “Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft… all of them have messed up at some point! But nooo, for some reason, EA gets to wear the clown nose.”
Apparently, being the big dog in the playground means a lot of kicking and shoving. “For us,” he continued, “it’s a super good collaboration.” Clearly, the fog of negativity hasn’t clouded the goodness in their dealings. If it were bad, wouldn’t he have picked a more dramatic soap opera to star in rather than this wholesome interview?
Game Releases and Smashing Successes
The latest gem, Split Fiction, graced screens in March 2025 and in a matter of mere months sold 4 million copies. That’s right, folks, millions of people shouting, “Take my money!” as they maneuver through a co-op escapade that follows two writers navigating both their careers and those pesky pub stories. It’s like every writer’s dream come true… minus the rejections.
Split Fiction has been lauded for looking better than its predecessor, It Takes Two, while keeping its mechanics closer than a best friend’s hug. Of course, Fares is crossing his fingers that the game won’t fall into the dreaded pit of repetitiveness. After all, who wants déjà vu when playing a game that’s supposed to be a fresh experience?
The Business Side: Numbers and Nonsense
In the midst of artful games, the corporate wheels are still grinding. Just last month, the fine folks at EA received a stamp of approval from shareholders for a potential sale to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund. That’s a mouthful, isn’t it? If all goes according to plan, this will give the Saudi fund a whopping 93.4% stake in EA, which means they’d be nearly calling the shots. However, they’d still have to slip past those pesky regulators before throwing a full-on victory party.
So, it’s clear that while some players might throw shade toward EA, Fares is happily sipping his corporate Kool-Aid while crafting games in collaboration with what many consider the ‘baddest’ of the bunch. It’s time to stop the blame game; let’s just call it a partnership forged in the fire of feedback, and hope for the best (and maybe fewer loot boxes).
