Hazelight’s 10 million-selling Game of the Year winner is the result of EA Originals, an initiative that’s been called the publisher’s secret weapon. The label was established in 2016 with the aim of taking smaller indie projects, such as Unravel and Fe, and developing their creators into the next video game hit-makers.
And although its focus has shifted to bigger games, like this week’s Koei Tecmo collaboration Wild Hearts, the journey behind Josef Fares’ Swedish studio – which partnered with EA for its debut game A Way Out, after Fares’ Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons found critical acclaim at developer Seabreeze – suggests EA’s plan is starting to pay off.