{"id":16967,"date":"2026-01-13T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/you-cant-do-gta-for-10-million-split-fictions-josef-fares-champions-diversity-in-games-and-budgets\/"},"modified":"2026-01-13T19:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-01-13T19:00:00","slug":"you-cant-do-gta-for-10-million-split-fictions-josef-fares-champions-diversity-in-games-and-budgets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/you-cant-do-gta-for-10-million-split-fictions-josef-fares-champions-diversity-in-games-and-budgets\/","title":{"rendered":"#&#8217;You Can&#8217;t Do GTA for $10 Million&#8217;: Split Fiction&#8217;s Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 eztoc-toggle-hide-by-default' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/you-cant-do-gta-for-10-million-split-fictions-josef-fares-champions-diversity-in-games-and-budgets\/#%E2%80%98You_Cant_Do_GTA_for_10_Million_Split_Fictions_Josef_Fares_Champions_Diversity_in_Games_and_Budgets\" >&#8216;You Can&#8217;t Do GTA for $10 Million&#8217;: Split Fiction&#8217;s Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%98You_Cant_Do_GTA_for_10_Million_Split_Fictions_Josef_Fares_Champions_Diversity_in_Games_and_Budgets\"><\/span>&#8216;You Can&#8217;t Do GTA for $10 Million&#8217;: Split Fiction&#8217;s Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div class=\"body body-text article-text\">\n<section class=\"text\">\n<figure class=\"picture\" data-uuid=\"ef802b60e1464\"><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"scanlines\" title=\"'You Can't Do GTA for $10 Million': Split Fiction's Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets 1\" href=\"https:\/\/images.pushsquare.com\/ef802b60e1464\/you-cant-do-gta-for-usd10-million-split-fictions-josef-fares-champions-diversity-in-games-and-budgets-1.large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.pushsquare.com\/ef802b60e1464\/you-cant-do-gta-for-usd10-million-split-fictions-josef-fares-champions-diversity-in-games-and-budgets-1.900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"'You Can't Do GTA for $10 Million': Split Fiction's Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets 1\"><\/a><\/figure>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking in an interview with <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thegamebusiness.com\/p\/split-fictions-josef-fares-i-would\">The Game Business<\/a>, 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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"for-mobile insert insert-label\">\n<div id=\"inject-primis-player\" data-src-primis=\"https:\/\/live.primis.tech\/live\/liveView.php?s=117168&amp;vp_content=plembed39b4tigwxqjz&amp;cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&amp;playerApiId=primis_player_float&amp;schain=1.0,1!ziffdavis.com,22392450815,1\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;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,&#8221; Fares says.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>&#8220;I really want to play the blockbuster games. You can&#8217;t do GTA for $10 million. We need both. It&#8217;s important not to get stuck in ideas, like AA is a new thing, or indie is a new thing, or &#8216;blah, blah, blah&#8217; is a new thing. We need the diversity. I hope that publishers don\u2019t just look at a game like Expedition, which has been super successful, and think, &#8216;oh, AA is a new thing. Let\u2019s only do that.&#8217; I don&#8217;t believe in that. You had a huge amount of AA games that came this year, which nobody cared about. Let&#8217;s remember that.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Interviewer Christopher Dring responds that it&#8217;s more difficult to take creative risks in the AAA space, but Fares says otherwise.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I would argue that, actually, Naughty Dog is pushing the envelope of innovation with a AAA budget,&#8221; he says. &#8220;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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>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. &#8220;People are more scared. It&#8217;s understandable. But it&#8217;s proven that you can do it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<div class=\"insert-label centered insert lazyload for-mobile insert-extended lazyload\">\n<div id=\"PS_MPU_X_A6966A3A456B57\" style=\"min-width:300px; min-height:250px;display:flex; flex-wrap: wrap; align-items:center; justify-content: center;\" data-dfp-id=\"pushsquare\/mobile_web_display\/article\" data-dfp-sizes=\"300x250,300x600\" data-dfp-targeting=\"pos=1,gto=false,experiment=nl-article-mobile-2\" class=\"lazyload\" data-dfp-refresh-direct=\"true\" data-prebid-config=\"Lazy_Load_HP_MPU\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>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&#8217;t need to spend outrageous sums of money to make something successful.<\/p>\n<p>However, Fares is arguing that one success story doesn&#8217;t guarantee the same for other games following in its footsteps.<\/p>\n<p>What do you think? Do you agree with Fares? Tell us in the comments section below.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p class=\"text source\">[source <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"external\" title=\"External Link: https:\/\/www.thegamebusiness.com\/p\/split-fictions-josef-fares-i-would\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thegamebusiness.com\/p\/split-fictions-josef-fares-i-would\">thegamebusiness.com<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><!-- cache: html:pushsquare.com\/ssl\/ps5\/related-info\/d41d8cd98f00b204e9800998ecf8427e @ 1768331746 --><\/div>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more like this article, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/game\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Game<\/a><\/span> category.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pushsquare.com\/news\/2026\/01\/you-cant-do-gta-for-usd10-million-split-fictions-josef-fares-champions-diversity-in-games-and-budgets\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8216;You Can&#8217;t Do GTA for $10 Million&#8217;: Split Fiction&#8217;s Josef Fares Champions Diversity in Games and Budgets 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&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16968,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/images.pushsquare.com\/ef802b60e1464\/large.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2060,1403,1400],"class_list":["post-16967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-game","tag-hazelight-studios","tag-news","tag-ps5"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16967","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16967"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16967\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16968"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16967"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16967"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yohrt.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16967"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}