If A Way Out had failed, Yusef Fares would have been on the street

Every summer, Swedish celebrities record something like a podcast in which they share their stories. Yusef Fares - the founder and head of Hazelight Studios - was the guest of the last such issue. He talked about his path to success and his love for the gaming industry, which was born in Lebanon.

We have collected the most interesting segments below:

• Fares was born in Lebanon during a difficult time - the country was torn apart by civil war. He mentions that his brother had a Pong console. But due to the circumstances, it was difficult to play, and the family did not have much money.
• Later, he and his family moved to the Swedish city of Örebro.
• Fares made several films, but moved to the game industry. To make a name for himself, he had to work hard. Once he was called to work on a demo version of the project, which would later be called Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.
• Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons was well received by critics and won several awards. She managed to win one in GTA V - both placed in the "Best Xbox Game" category at VGX 2013. 

• Subsequently, Fares founded his own company Hazelight and started developing A Way Out. The game became more and more ambitious, and at the same time, its budget grew. According to the specialist, somewhere in the middle of production, he realized that 5 million had already been spent on the project: "I panicked a little, but I didn't say anything to the team. After that, I couldn't pay my employees for several months."
• Desperation forced Phares to look for a way out of the situation. He was going to sell his share in the company to save at least some money. A buyer was found, but he himself refused the deal. "I guess he's regretting it now," - laughs the head of Hazelight.
• The accountant warned that if A Way Out did not sell well, Fares would be out on the street with all his debts.
• In the end, the specialist decided to earn money on his own to finance the project and pay salaries. He picked up a camera and started shooting commercials. He left the studio as early as possible to go to the set. The partnership with EA came later.

• He also mentioned the legendary phrase "Fuck the Oscars" thrown during The Gaming Awards 2017. According to him, he was tired of journalists constantly comparing TGA with this ceremony. But he did not expect that the public would like his words so much.

"Four years later, when you released It Takes Two and took home Game of the Year, I went from being a freak screaming at an awards ceremony to being recognized as a genius."

On the eve of It Takes Two, Hazelight's latest game for the time being, it celebrated the pinnacle of success: the co-op adventure was purchased more than 7 million times.