"Streamers Win Hazelight Studios Trip After Secret Stage Completion"

Split Fiction streamers have recently achieved a remarkable feat by discovering and completing the challenging "Laser Hell" secret stage, which has earned them an exclusive trip to Hazelight Studios. This article delves into the details of the Laser Hell challenge and provides insights into what Hazelight Studios has been up to following the game's successful launch.

Split Fiction Continues With More Surprises

First Players to Finish "Laser Hell" Challenge Earn a Trip to Hazelight Studios

Since its successful launch last month, Split Fiction has continued to surprise players with hidden challenges like the "Laser Hell" stage. This notoriously difficult level was conquered by Chinese streamers sharkOvO and E1uM4y, who shared their achievement on BiliBili. To unlock the stage, players need to enter a specific sequence of switch presses in the elevator during the Isolation level, which then transports them to a laser-filled platform challenge.

Upon completing the stage, the duo unlocked a special congratulatory video from Hazelight Founder Josef Fares. In the video, Fares revealed that even many of the game's developers struggled with the level. Impressed by their accomplishment, Fares extended an invitation to visit Hazelight Studios in Sweden. He further acknowledged their achievement 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 publisher EA and the studio's progress on their next project. Fares highlighted the unique reception of Split Fiction, saying, "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.’ 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."

While Fares was tight-lipped about the details of the new game, he mentioned that development began about a month ago. He explained, "There is a reason why I can’t talk about the next game; it’s because it’s quite early. 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 clarified, "Here’s the thing, people don’t understand this: EA is a supporter. We don’t pitch games to them. 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." He praised EA for their respect towards Hazelight's creative process, stating, "Maybe they’re messing 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-reported issues. These included fixes for in-game mechanics, minor online play glitches, and improvements in localization and subtitles across all languages.

Additionally, Split Fiction reached a significant milestone by selling over 2 million copies within just one week of its release. This achievement surpasses the initial sales of Hazelight's previous Game of the Year Award winner, It Takes Two, which sold 1 million copies a few weeks after its launch and eventually reached 20 million by October 2024.

Split Fiction is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. For the latest updates and more information about the game, be sure to check out our related articles!