Split Fiction Is A Smash Hit By Every Metric And A Lesson To EA And Others
As I write this sentence, the latest co-op adventure game from Hazelight, Split Fiction, hasn't even been out for 48 hours. Yet based on player count numbers, Metacritic rankings, reviews, and player ratings, it is already one of EA's most successful and critically acclaimed games in years. And hopefully, EA and other publishers learn a thing or two from the co-op game's success.
After being revealed just 12 weeks ago at the Game Awards in December, Split Fiction launched on March 6 to rave reviews. Our own Kenneth Shepard found the game to be incredibly inventive and well-made, calling it a 'victory lap' from studio Hazelight which has been producing excellent co-op games for about a decade now. I've been playing it with my wife over the last few days and I have to agree. It's a truly incredible game that is packed with hundreds of cool moments and ideas. And it seems we aren't alone in loving Split Fiction because looking around at ever publicly available metric on hand, the game is a smash hit.
First, lets look at Metacritic, which is a useful if flawed metric of how well a game is doing overall with critics across multiple sites and outlets. The review aggregator has Split Fiction, as of March 7, sitting at 91 on PS5 and 92 on Xbox and PC. That's damn impressive, and it's enough to make it 2025's highest-rated game thus far. But it's also a big deal for publisher EA, as Split Fiction is EA's first video game to score a 90 or higher on Metacritic in 13 years. The last time that happened was in 2012 with Mass Effect 3.
Next, we can look at Steam and how many people are playing the game on Valve's popular PC storefront. According to the ever-reliable SteamDB, just a few hours after launch, Split Fiction had over 190,000 active concurrent players. Wowza! That means it was as popular as Steam giants like GTA V, Rust, and Marvel Rivals. That high number also set a record for EA. Split Fiction's peak player count of 197,000 is the second highest concurrent number EA has achieved on Steam. Only Apex Legends, a free-to-play battle royale shooter, has done better.
It should also be noted that unlike most other EA games, Split Fiction (like 2024's Dragon Age: The Veilguard) doesn't require you to install and use a separate EA launcher to play. This is further proof that ditching third party launchers is a smart move for any publisher.
EA and Hazelight are also probably really happy that Split Fiction is receiving positive reviews from players on Steam. The new co-op game currently has a 94 percent positive user rating on Steam. That makes it EA's fifth most well-reviewed Steam game, only slightly behind another Hazelight co-op banger, It Takes Two.
While we will have to wait and see how well Split Fiction sells, all the currently available data shows that this is a huge home run for EA. It's yet more evidence that smaller, more focused games (relative to stuff like GTA 6 and Starfield) can succeed and blow up in a big way. And you don't need to spend three years marketing a game for it to find success.
I also think that EA made a smart move when it decided to not lock Split Fiction behind some third-party launcher on PC. Instead, you buy the game on Steam and just play it. Simple, easy, and a much more appealing offer for the sometimes fickle PC playerbase. And let's not forget that Hazelight (an independent studio, but one which relies heavily on EA's money) being able to spend a decade now making smaller co-op games has allowed the team more time to learn and improve at their craft collectively, which means future games are likely to be better.
Now, will EA and other publishers watching learn a lesson from Split Fiction's success? Will they allow studios more chances to make smaller games and not burn millions on years of marketing or lay off people the moment something doesn't hit as big? Probably not. But it would be nice to see someone out there learn a lesson from Split Fiction's home run success.
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