A Way Out, debut game from Hazelight Studios, has reached an impressive milestone. The co-op hit has sold over 9 million units since its launch.
Hazelight made the announcement on social media, thanking players for supporting A Way Out and the studio throughout the years.
“The development was a wild ride and the game was already a success back when it released,” the team said in a statement. “But even then, we never dared to dream of THIS many people playing our game.”
A Way Out is available on PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, but it is unclear how sales are split between platforms. It can also be played via subscription services like EA Play, and each owner can invite one friend to play co-op online. So the total audience must exceed 9 million.
Here are the key sales milestones for A Way Out:
- 1 million copies — less than three weeks since its launch on March 23, 2018;
- 2 million copies — almost a year and a half after launch (August 2019);
- 3.5 million copies — less than three years after launch (January 2021).
- 9 million copies — six years after launch (June 2024).
Hazelight also shared some behind-the-scenes footage of capturing motions for A Way Out. The team didn’t have enough money to hire professional actors, so they had to record everything themselves.
The video below is part of the ongoing anniversary celebration as the studio turns 10 years old this November.
We didn’t have the budget to hire actors, so we ended up capturing every single motion in A Way Out ourselves (on whatever mocap system we could get our hands on)… and we had a lot of fun doing it! 🤩
Stars from the Hazelight team in this short cut:
– Josef Fares, Creative… pic.twitter.com/LkFGze7TBc— Hazelight Studios (@HazelightGames) June 5, 2024
Founded by creative director Josef Fares, Hazelight faced financial problems during its early days. “If [A Way Out] hadn’t succeeded and sold well I’d end up on the streets with all the debts I’d racked up,” Fares once recalled, adding that “I started directing a bunch of commercials so I could earn some money and pay the salaries.”
The studio’s second game, It Takes Two, became even more successful than A Way Out. It won multiple awards, including the GotY at The Game Awards 2021, and sold over 16 million copies globally.
Hazelight is now working on its next game, which is expected to be revealed later this year. There are not many details about it, except that it will also focus on co-op gameplay.