As Josef Farès tours media and content creators to promote Split Fiction, he reflects on the remarkable success of It Takes Two, his previous game, which won the Game of the Year (GOTY) award in 2021. This achievement allowed the charming game to reach a broad audience. Indeed, with 23 million copies sold, it outperformed far more popular franchises. Moreover, as the game requires two players, this means approximately 46 million people have played the title. However, Josef Farès reveals an unknown detail: half of the 23 million sold globally came from China, meaning around 11.5 million copies were sold in the country. This information was disclosed by the Lebanese-Swedish creator during a MinnMax YouTube interview.
Of the 23 million sales, half were achieved in China. And for some reason I am unaware of, they loved our game.
The church being at the heart of the village underscores its significance and highlights that China can no longer be ignored by publishers and video game studios. The remarkable success of Black Myth Wukong, with 25 million copies sold (7.5 million in the West), demonstrates the evolution of the Chinese audience, which is no longer limited to mobile games or MMOs. Split Fiction was likely designed with this data in mind, aiming to present a distinct atmosphere that blends fantasy and science fiction. The game is rich with references to pop culture, and its sci-fi cities evoke the ambiance of Blade Runner and its Tokyo-like setting, reflecting the modern urban landscape seen in Chinese metropolises such as Shanghai or Chongqing. It remains to be seen whether the Chinese audience will respond as enthusiastically as they did for It Takes Two.
