Hazelight Studios has announced that its latest co-op adventure Split Fiction sold 1 million copies within 48 hours of launch.

The co-op action-adventure title released on March 6 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. It's the fastest-selling game to date from the studio: 2021's It Takes Two and 2018's A Way Out took two weeks after their respective launches to reach that same milestone.

"The love you all show for our game is overwhelming!" wrote Hazelight. "Everyone here at Hazelight are beyond happy – and we can’t stop enjoying your amazing reactions!"

Hazelight's games have gotten strong reviews and sold well. In a recent Washington Post interview, creative director Josef Fares revealed It Takes Two has sold 23 million copies, and A Way Out has sold 11 million copies to date.

The studio is also the best-performing (and repeat) developer of EA's Originals label, which has also published Surgent Studios' Tales of Kenzera: Zau and Omega Force's Wild Hearts.

Player-wise, Split Fiction had a strong launch on Steam. By Saturday, March 8, it had 254,756 concurrent players on Valve's platform. That peak has now risen to 259,003 players at time of writing. Some of the game's popularity can be attributed to its Friends Pass system, which lets an owner share the game with a friend who doesn't own it so they can play together from start to finish.

It's the highest-performing Hazelight game on Steam to date, surpassing peaks for It Takes Two (71,039 players) and A Way Out (8,582 players) by a substantial amount.

Hazelight and Split Fiction keep couch co-op alive

Why are Hazelight's games doing so well? Co-op seems to be the answer.

Cooperative play is nothing new, but the studio's narratives and gameplay are built around the dynamics between its two leads, rather than just having player two be another person to have on hand. The split-screen focus also makes it an ideal game to play with family or a significant other, especially if the game is about such interpersonal dynamics.

Couch co-op is not a priority for mainstream titles. Hazelight's continued focus on it games makes the studio a unique presence that helps gives its games some more longevity. If the servers for It Takes Two ever go down, the game isn't completely dead, as is the case with other online-centric multiplayer titles. Come from Soccer 13 pools and matches

It also helps that the studio's games have been released with inviting other players in mind. Split Fiction aforementioned Friends Pass comes with cross-play, which help opens things up significantly.