By Dexerto | Created at 2025-03-06 21:15:26 | Updated at 2025-03-07 00:18:57
3 hours ago
Despite microtransactions playing a massive role in gaming, Split Faction director Joesph Fares believes they have no place in the industry.
Joseph Fares rose to fame in 2013 after creating Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons. The Swedish filmmaker followed that up with A Way Out and It Takes Two.
The defining trait that sets these games apart is that they are centered around couch co-op, which has become a dying art in gaming. It Takes Two, in particular, became a hit sensation, winning The Game Award for Game of the Year in 2021.
Split Fiction is Fares’ latest project, launching on March 6. In our review, we proclaimed the co-op title “pure gaming brilliance” and claimed that it’s even better than It Takes Two.
Split Fiction’s remarkable story established Fares as one of the industry’s leading names, and he revealed a massive reason why other game developers are held back creatively.
Split Faction director takes hard stance against microtransactions
Joseph Fares, director of Split Faction, It Takes Two, A Way Out, and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, responded to YouTube comments, and one fan said, “No lootboxes, no microtransactions, no BS. Words to live by!”
“Every time you make a design decision about taking more money in the game, I think it’s a huge problem, and it’s stopping our industry from a creative perspective,” Fares argued.
It’s easy to see why removing microtransactions from a game would be a hard sell to publishers. In 2024, Blizzard revealed that microtransactions from Diablo IV resulted in more than $1 billion in total revenue.
Meanwhile, since July 1st, 2022, approximately 73.5% of EA’s revenue has been Live Service/Micro Transactions. Live content sales have been over 50% of EA’s revenue since 2018 and 40% since 2024.
Sports titles such as EA FC, Madden, and College Football are cash cows for the company, and fans spend ridiculous amounts of money every year on microtransactions.
In 2022, EA promised to make more single-player games after Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order exceeded expectations. Yet despite that promise and Fares’ argument, it’s clear that microtransactions are here to stay, given the revenue they generate.
