How China's Preferences Might Impact Sales of a GOTY Successor

It Takes Two was a huge hit in China. Can the studio's next game do the same?

I believe Hazelight Studios upcoming Split Fiction will sell considerably less than It Takes Two did in its initial months, at least.

I used to dabble in industry predictions, and it’s something I still enjoy doing from time to time, although I didn’t do much on this platform. This post changes that.

For those not aware, It Takes Two (Hazelight previous games) sold over 20 million copies since it released back in March 2021, and won several Game of the Year (GOTY) awards, including in China from BiliBili. A recent Polygon article shared some insight into these sales numbers and provided some context - including a reference to an article I wrote in 2022 for Gamesindustry.biz.

Why won’t Split Fiction be as Successful?

It Takes Two sales were almost split in half between China and the rest of the world for the first 3~5M units at least. We know that, as Josef Fares himself (boss at Hazelight Studios) confirmed it on several different occasions, at first being in a podcast with Tim Schafer.

Split Fiction won't appeal to Chinese audiences as much. For that (very general and broad) reason, I believe sales potential for the title will be limited at launch.

To be clear, this is simply my personal prediction, of course. It Takes Two is one of my favorite games ever, and I'm extremely excited for Split Fiction. My prediction has nothing to do with quality expectations!


Why do I think Split Fiction won't appeal to Chinese audiences in particular? That would be a very long conversation.
Still, I can point out the sci-fi and fantastical themes as an obvious "barrier" to mainstream audiences, I think. It Takes Two was one of those gaming phenomena in China where many (if not most) of its users were/are "non-gamers". And why was that? That's the actual real long and nuanced conversation...

It Takes Two has a very unique art style, and it focuses on universal family themes and values that are relatable to most people around the world, and in China as well. Being a co-op game where we play as a couple considering divorce made it particularly poignant among a society (like China’s) where traditional values are constantly being challenged by the realities of the growing middle and upper classes living within this fast-changing and very fast-paced society. Simply put, beyond the extremely fun, polished and diverse gameplay the title offers, It Takes Two aimed deep at people’s emotions and views on life and society - it’s very relatable.

Split Fiction on the other hand, seems far more generic and distanced. The art style, frankly speaking, is perhaps its biggest “disadvantage”, as the game can, superficially, be easily mistaken with countless other games made over the years. The science fiction theme will put off a lot of “casuals”, making the title much more appealing to core audiences.

Localization Matters

Furthermore, on a more linguistic observation, the name for It Takes Two in China is “双人成行”, which roughly translates as “Two people’s journey (together)”. This is a very intuitive and easy to understand title. It immediately conveys the main theme. Split Fiction’s name in China on the other hand is “幻裂奇境”, very un-appealing (according to native Chinese people I asked about), and translates as “Magical Broken Place”, or “Fiction Land”. It doesn’t connect. So much so that people online in China have started calling it “姐妹成行” instead, which is a direct throwback to the It Takes Two Chinese name and translates as “Sisters Journey Together”.

Localization is, of course, crucial for the success of international games in China. While that is related to Split Fiction as well, it is a more expansive topic I won’t get too much into here…

I do think the game will be successful and have a long tail, especially if reviews are good. I very much believe Hazelight will yet again deliver an excellent game, which hopefully will be able to appeal to as many people as it deserves. In China, and everywhere.

UPDATED: The final name of the game in China is actually “双影奇境”, which roughly translates as “Twin Shadows”.