Josef Fares (born 19 September 1977) is a Lebanese-Swedish film director and video game designer. His brother is the actor

Fares Fares Fares Fares (; ; born 29 April 1973) is a Swedish actor, producer, and director. He is known for his collaborations with director Tarik Saleh, as well as his roles in notable shows such as Chernobyl (miniseries), ''Chernobyl'' ''and The Wheel of ...

, who has appeared in many of his films, including one of his major hits, '' A Way Out'' (2018). He is the founder of

Hazelight Studios Hazelight Studios is a Swedish video game development company. Founded by director Josef Fares in 2014, the company is best known for developing cooperative multiplayer games '' A Way Out'', '' It Takes Two'', and '' Split Fiction''. All of the ...

. He was presented "The Game Of The Year Award" for his game '' It Takes Two'' at

The Game Awards The Game Awards is an annual awards ceremony honoring achievements in the video game industry. Established in 2014, the shows are produced and hosted by game journalist Geoff Keighley. After working on its predecessor, the Spike Video Game Awar ...

in 2021. He also directed the game ''

Split Fiction ''Split Fiction'' is a 2025 action-adventure game developed by Hazelight Studios and published by Electronic Arts. As a cooperative multiplayer-only game, it follows authors Mio Hudson and Zoe Foster after they become imprisoned in the world of ...

'' (2025).

Biography

Josef Fares moved to

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

when he was 10 years old, fleeing the

Lebanese Civil War The Lebanese Civil War ( ) was a multifaceted armed conflict that took place from 1975 to 1990. It resulted in an estimated 150,000 fatalities and led to the exodus of almost one million people from Lebanon. The religious diversity of the ...

with his family. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' declared him one of ten upcoming directors to watch in 2006. The same year he won

the Nordic Council Film Prize The Nordic Council Film Prize is an annual film prize administered by the Nordic Council. The Nordisk Film & TV Fond is the funding body that administers the prize. History The first award was handed out in 2002 to celebrate the Nordic Council's ...

for his film '' Zozo''. In 2013, he directed his first video game, '' Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons''. The game was well received by critics. Its focus is on the interaction between two brothers and their journey to save their father. He next formed his own development company, named

, and partnered with publisher

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

for his next video game, '' A Way Out'', which was released 23 March 2018. On 7 December 2017 Fares appeared on

The Game Awards 2017 The Game Awards 2017 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2017, and took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on December 7, 2017. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, and was live streamed around the world across ...

and gave a speech while on stage with host

Geoff Keighley Geoff Keighley ( ; born ) is a Canadian video game journalist and television presenter, best known for his role as the host of several video game industry conferences and presentations. He is the executive producer and host of the Game Awards s ...

, where he strongly criticized the

Oscars The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence i ...

due to their ranking films above video games. Fares includes the speech as an

Easter egg Easter eggs, also called Paschal eggs, are eggs that are decorated for the Christian holiday of Easter, which celebrates the resurrection of Jesus. As such, Easter eggs are commonly used during the season of Eastertide (Easter season). The ...

in his 2021 game '' It Takes Two''. His comments were censored, and he referenced the speech, while saying that the "Oscars got fucked", as he accepted the Game of the Year Award at

The Game Awards 2021 The Game Awards 2021 was an award show that honored the best video games of 2021. The event was hosted by Geoff Keighley, creator and producer of The Game Awards, and was held to an invited audience at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on D ...

Industry perspective

In an interview to ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'' following '' It Takes Two''s win at The Game Awards 2021, Fares expressed his perspective on several topics in the game industry. He said he would "rather get shot in the knee" than include

NFTs A non-fungible token (NFT) is a unique digital identifier that is recorded on a blockchain and is used to certify ownership and authenticity. It cannot be copied, substituted, or subdivided. The ownership of an NFT is recorded in the blockchai ...

in future games, he also put forward that adjusting game design to make the player pay is wrong, and stated "For me, gaming is art". Fares has also commented on the topic of

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment based on the sex or gender of a victim. It can involve offensive sexist or sexual behavior, verbal or physical actions, up to bribery, coercion, and assault. Harassment may be explicit or implicit, wit ...

within the gaming industry which was brought up at The Game Awards 2021 with respect to

Activision Blizzard Activision Blizzard, Inc. is an American video game holding company based in Santa Monica, California. Activision Blizzard currently includes three operating units: Activision, Blizzard Entertainment and King (company), King. Founded in July 2 ...

and its CEO

Bobby Kotick Robert A. Kotick (born 1963) is an American businessman who served as the chief executive officer (CEO) of Activision Blizzard and its predecessor, Activision, from 1991 to 2023. He became the CEO of Activision through a hostile takeover during ...

, saying "I think sometimes you need to go through some shit to get to the other side. That’s what’s happening", as well as that unions help "but that’s just one of the things. I don’t think it solves everything. Education and knowledge, I think that’s most important."

Personal life

Fares has two daughters, Mio and Zoe. The protagonists of ''

'' are named after his daughters.

Filmography

Ludography

References

External links

Hazelight Studios
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fares, Josef 1977 births Crystal Simorgh recipients Living people Male actors from Beirut Swedish video game designers Video game writers Swedish film directors Swedish people of Assyrian descent Swedish male actors