Hazelight stays private to keep game-first creativity intact

Josef Fares, Hazelight's CEO, says the studio will never go public because stock-market metrics could force 'stupid decisions' and undermine creativity; he highlights the Friends Pass as an example of balancing creative intent with business benefit, and stresses decisions will be made for the game rather than analytics. He warns against publishers chasing mid-tier 'AA' titles and affirms the need for both AAA and diverse games, pointing to Hazelight's Split Fiction, which sold 1 million in 48 hours and 2 million in its first week, as evidence of demand for cooperative experiences.