A Way Out’s Josef Fares Wants Devs to “Take More Risks” in Games

Hazelight Studios’ Joseph Fares knows a thing or two about taking risks. Known for his outlandish and completely uncensored personality, he’s definitely not shy to let what he wants be known and known thoroughly. That same state of being can be seen in his creative work as well, and it looks like the A Way Out director is putting out a call to arms, so to speak, to fellow game creators regarding taking “risks.”

“It would be good for all publishers to take more risks,” the director told GamesIndustry.biz in a new interview. “I hope this inspires more AAA titles to improve their writing, the gameplay. I hope we show that yes, you can take risks and you can do well. I mean we’ll probably do less well because we give one copy away for free [per player], but that doesn’t really matter. At the end of the day, it’s a good way of testing stuff.”

At the end of the day, game creation is still a business so losing money is never the end-goal. That being said, it’s also art and Fares mentioned that it’s important that developers remember that throughout the process, “I love taking risks. Like the fact that this is co-op only – from the beginning, people were like ‘isn’t that risky? Won’t you sell less?’ I don’t care. That’s the vision, so I will follow it.

It seems to be paying off, because A Way Out has seen very positive reviews so far. Check out a blurb from our full review below:

“Despite its occasional faults, A Way Out’s spirited revival of the split-screen co-op genre shine through these hiccups in a way that brings players together for a robust story that’s packaged nearly perfectly. It’s not too long, its low cost and abstaining from DLC and microtransactions makes it insanely worth the price, and the Friends Pass feature means that a new experience awaits when it’s played with as many friends as you want. A Way Out is a game that should not be missed, and it should stand as a reference for future games to see precisely how co-op should work.”