It was a statement that echoed through the halls of virtual conferences and social media feeds alike. Josef Fares, the outspoken founder of Hazelight Studios and the visionary behind the award-winning It Takes Two, leaned forward and declared that he would rather get \u201cshot in the knee\u201d than ever allow non-fungible tokens to contaminate his games. In an industry increasingly obsessed with monetization schemes and digital scarcity, his words felt like a thunderbolt of clarity.
Fares has never been one to mince words. From his unforgettable \u201cF--- the Oscars\u201d rant at The Game Awards to his relentless championing of pure, heartfelt co-op experiences, the Swedish-Lebanese director treats game development as a sacred art form. His latest blast against NFTs and live-service models only cemented his reputation as gaming\u2019s most passionate defender of creativity over commerce.
The backdrop to this fiery commentary was a sit-down interview at the dawn of 2022, yet its ripples are still being felt in 2026. Back then, It Takes Two had just swept The Game Awards, winning Game of the Year against fierce competition. It was a triumph of imagination\u2014a kaleidoscopic journey through a fractured marriage, played entirely in co-op. From riding giant frogs to battling a rogue vacuum cleaner, every level felt handcrafted, devoid of any microtransaction or artificial replayability hook. The game\u2019s success proved that a tightly designed, story-driven experience could thrive without nickel-and-diming players.
When asked about the NFT craze that was sweeping through major publishers at the time, Fares didn\u2019t hesitate. He admitted that some CEOs might call him stupid for putting art before profit. \u201cWhatever decision you take in a game, where you have to adjust the design to make the player pay or do something that makes you want him to pay money, that is wrong, if you ask me,\u201d he told The Washington Post. \u201cFor me, gaming is art.\u201d
He extended his critique to live-service titles, a genre that was exploding as studios chased endless revenue streams. Fares noted that story-based, single-player games rarely need grinding mechanics or endless seasons. \u201cWe already have a problem that people are not even finishing single-player experience games, so why focus on replayability?\u201d he argued. This philosophy has since guided Hazelight\u2019s design ethos. By 2026, two more co-op adventures have bloomed from the studio\u2014each one a focused, splitscreen-only tale with zero shoehorned monetization, proving that the formula works even as the market shifts.
The NFT storm that Fares confronted didn\u2019t simply vanish. Between 2022 and 2025, the industry witnessed a spectacular implosion of blockchain-powered ambitions. Ubisoft\u2019s Quartz platform struggled to gain traction. EA\u2019s CEO publicly acknowledged that collectible digital items weren\u2019t the holy grail they had envisioned. Konami\u2019s celebratory NFT auction drew more derision than revenue. Square Enix, which had aggressively bet on the technology, quietly pivoted back to traditional mid-tier projects. Fares\u2019s knee-shot remark felt prophetic in hindsight, a common-sense reminder that players crave emotional resonance, not speculative assets.
What makes Josef Fares\u2019s stance so enduring in 2026 isn\u2019t just the bold language\u2014it\u2019s the tangible results his studio continues to deliver. While mega-corporations are slowly learning to rebuild trust, Hazelight has become a beacon. Its games are celebrated not just for their ingenuity but for their integrity. They ship complete, polished, and unburdened by battle passes or tokenized cosmetics. In an era where many gamers still feel scarred by the broken promises of the NFT rush, Hazelight\u2019s catalog stands as a comforting refuge.
Fares remains cautiously optimistic about the industry\u2019s trajectory. He once remarked that we are \u201cgoing toward a brighter future,\u201d and the evidence today supports that belief. The NFT gaming market has shriveled into a tiny niche, mostly confined to fringe mobile apps and speculative gambling platforms. Live-service juggernauts still exist, but more studios are championing the single-player revival\u2014Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, the latest Legend of Zelda, and Hazelight\u2019s own Sonder have all shown that players will flock to games that respect their time and intelligence.
Through it all, the image of a defiant Josef Fares on that interview chair endures. He didn\u2019t just refuse to bow to a trend; he ridiculed it with the same blunt humor he\u2019s famous for. His alternative to getting shot in the knee became a rallying cry for developers who felt pressured to compromise their visions. In 2026, as the last echoes of the NFT mania fade, we can look back and realize he was never just making a joke. He was laying down a line that the best games still refuse to cross. And as long as Hazelight keeps creating, that line remains beautifully intact. \ud83c\udfae\u2728