'You Can't Do GTA for $10 Million': Split Fiction's Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets 1

Video games have never been more diverse than they are today, but at the top end, risk-averse publishers tend to get a glint in their eye whenever they spot a trend.

It leads to periods of time dominated by very similar titles; just look at the rise of Souls-likes, or how many free-to-play shooters are chasing the Fortnite money.

It's something that seems to concern Josef Fares, top dog at Hazelight Studios and director of co-op hits It Takes Two and Split Fiction.

Speaking in an interview with The Game Business, Fares talks about the need for diverse games at every level of production, in light of how well Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has done on its relatively modest budget.

"You do hear, after the success of things like Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, that the AA games are taking over. But I would not be able to live without a AAA title," Fares says.

"I really want to play the blockbuster games. You can't do GTA for $10 million. We need both. It's important not to get stuck in ideas, like AA is a new thing, or indie is a new thing, or 'blah, blah, blah' is a new thing. We need the diversity. I hope that publishers don’t just look at a game like Expedition, which has been super successful, and think, 'oh, AA is a new thing. Let’s only do that.' I don't believe in that. You had a huge amount of AA games that came this year, which nobody cared about. Let's remember that."

Interviewer Christopher Dring responds that it's more difficult to take creative risks in the AAA space, but Fares says otherwise.

"I would argue that, actually, Naughty Dog is pushing the envelope of innovation with a AAA budget," he says. "I would argue Rockstar is doing it. Nintendo is, most of the time, doing it. So you can do a big AAA title but also take innovative risks."

Fares concedes that once you get into the hundreds of millions of dollars, it becomes a scarier proposition, but that creative ideas in AAA can find success. "People are more scared. It's understandable. But it's proven that you can do it."

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is said to have been made on a budget of around $10 million, and it went on to find huge sales success, unanimous praise in reviews, and countless awards. It proves you don't need to spend outrageous sums of money to make something successful.

However, Fares is arguing that one success story doesn't guarantee the same for other games following in its footsteps.

What do you think? Do you agree with Fares? Tell us in the comments section below.

[source thegamebusiness.com]