Split Fiction Confirms The News We've Been Hoping For When It Comes To Playing With Friends
Hazelight Studios' next co-op game, Split Fiction, will be released this March, and fans just got confirmation of its most important feature. Players will need just one copy of the game to play online co-op with their friends, as a version of It Takes Two's friend pass will be available with Split Fiction.
In an interview with Gamertag Radio host Danny Peña, Hazelight Studios founder Josef Fares confirmed that just one player needs to have a copy of Split Fiction for the co-op to work. Fares, the director of Hazelight's previous co-op games It Takes Two and A Way Out, discussed the game's new features and how Split Fiction is pushing the co-op foundation that made It Takes Two a game of the year winner.
Split Fiction is quite different from It Takes Two storywise, as the game centers on writers Mio and Zoe, who must work together as they're thrust into a virtual reality comprising the genres they write in and the ones they hate. In his interview with Peña, Fares also gave new details on Split Fiction's online co-op.
Split-Fiction Follows It Takes Two's Approach To Online Co-Op
Fares Also Confirmed Another Feature Of Online Co-Op That Should Excite Fans
Like in It Takes Two, Fares confirmed that to play Split Fiction with someone online, only one player will need a copy of the game. This takes after It Takes Two'sFriend's Pass, a feature that allows one player without It Takes Two to download the pass and then connect with their friend who has the game. Fares also added a new piece of information in his interview with Gamertag Radio: Split Fiction will have cross-play functionally. This means players looking to do online co-op can play with friends on different platforms, something they couldn't do with It Takes Two.
With Split Fiction's release approaching, Hazelight Studios released a new story trailer during PlayStation's latest State of Play, showing off the ambitious nature of Split Fiction. While featured at a PlayStation event, Fares confirmed Split Fiction will remain multiplatform. When asked whether Split Fiction could also be coming to the Nintendo Switch 2, Fares said he didn't know, but he hinted at knowing some secrets behind the Switch 2. However, it won't be until April's Nintendo Direct that we'll get a full reveal of the Switch 2 and what games will be available at launch.
Our Take: This Is Great News For The Future Of Co-Op Games
Hazelight Studios Continues To Be The Standard Bearer In This Genre
For a long time, co-op play was relegated to standard online play in shooters like Call of Duty or separate modes entirely from the base game. Hazelight's commitment to making narrative-driven co-op games and forcing the players to work together to achieve common goals is refreshing. While It Takes Two wasn't perfect, Split Fiction has the chance to refine what made it work and maybe give us characters that bicker less and grow with each other. Of course, that bickering can often mirror the back and forth of players stuck at a frustrating puzzle.
In Screen Rant's Split Fiction preview, we were impressed with the game's setup and gameplay variety. While it looks bigger than It Takes Two, there doesn't seem to be too much repetitive bloat. Notably, the game prioritizes fun over difficulty, at least in the three hours previewed, allowing anyone to pick up the sticks and enjoy the game. March 6th can't come soon enough, as Split Fiction looks to elevate Hazelight Studios and the entire genre of co-op games.
Sources: YouTube (Danny Peña), EA It Takes Two Friend's Pass
Split Fiction
OpenCritic Reviews- Released
- March 6, 2025
- ESRB
- T For Teen // Blood and Gore, Crude Humor, Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Hazelight Studios
- Publisher(s)
- Electronic Arts
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
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