Electronic Arts (EA) has published Hazelight Studios' last two games, It Takes Two and Split Fiction, through its EA Originals publishing arm. Hazelight founder Josef Fares is a vocal personality in the gaming industry, garnering significant popularity from fans because of his passionate opinions on gaming. Despite the negative reputation of Electronic Arts, Fares has always been positive about the relationship between Hazelight and its publisher.
In a recent interview with Edge Magazine (thanks, GamesRadar+), Fares offered his opinion on EA. He says, in contrast to the amount of pushback he received in the earlier years of his career, "EA definitely never interferes with any of development. And I mean zero." Fares has always been firm in his studio's distaste for microtransactions, and Electronic Arts has consistently demonstrated its undying love for them. However, according to Fares, EA has never pushed Hazelight to employ these practices.
It should be noted that Hazelight is not owned by Electronic Arts, so the latter's authority over the former is limited to whatever was agreed in the pair's publishing contract. First-party studios like BioWare and DICE don't have this luxury as they are wholly owned by EA.
"I'm gonna give EA props for...
