Split Fiction smashes Electronic Arts records on Steam, with nearly 200k concurrent players and growing

Hazelight Studios is back with its new co-op action adventure game Split Fiction. The title has been off to a strong start, with its impressive player numbers exceeding most other products published by Electronic Arts.

Launched globally on March 6, Split Fiction is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Like Hazelight’s previous title, It Takes Two, it is a co-op-only game, but users need one copy ($50) to play it together via the Friend’s Pass feature.

Split Fiction received critical acclaim, with an average Metascore of 91/100. It is Electronic Arts’ first 90+ game in 13 years, since Mass Effect 3 (93/100). At the time of writing, Hazelight’s new title also has an “Overwhelmingly Positive” rating on Steam, with 97% of the 1,653 reviews being positive.

47% of all Steam reviews for the game are written in Simplified Chinese (via Steam Scout), followed by English (33.4%), Russian (3.5%), German (2.8%), and Portuguese – Brazil (2.4%).

According to SteamDB, Split Fiction has already peaked at 197,434 concurrent players on Valve’s platform. Given the current dynamic, the number is likely to increase over the weekend when more users will be able to join the game.

This makes it Hazelight’s biggest release by that metric, beating It Takes Two (71k CCU) and A Way Out (8.5k CCU) by a wide margin. Not to mention It Takes Two launched with less than 10k CCU, reaching its peak in December 2024 due to an 80% discount and the announcement of Split Fiction.

Split Fiction is also the biggest game by peak concurrent players released under the EA Originals label, which focuses on partnering with third-party studios outside of the company’s core genres. In addition to Hazelight’s previous titles, EA Originals’ portfolio includes Wilds Hearts (28.5k CCU), Unravel Two (951 CCU), Immortals of Aveum (751 CCU), Tales of Kenzera: Zau (287 CCU), and more.

When looking at all games published by Electronic Arts, Split Fiction already ranks 2nd, behind only free-to-play hit Apex Legends (624.4k CCU). It has surpassed all-time peaks of titles such as Battlefield V (116.1k CCU), EA Sports FC 23 (110.8k CCU), The Sims 4 (96.3k CCU), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (89.4k CCU), and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (67.8k CCU).

Electronic Arts’ top 15 games on Steam by peak concurrent players

Split Fiction is currently the 3rd biggest new release of 2024 by peak concurrent players:

1. Monster Hutner Wilds — 1.3 million CCU;
2. Kingdom Come: Deliverance II — 256.2k CCU;
3. Split Fiction — 197.4k CCU;
4. GTA V Enhanced — 187k CCU;
5. R.E.P.O. — 86.7k CCU;
6. Civilization VII — 84.5k CCU;
7. Dynasty Warriors: Origins — 69.4k CCU;
8. FragPunk — 60.7k CCU;
9. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth — 40.5k CCU;
10. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 — 28.1k CCU.

While Hazelight has yet to disclose any sales figures, Split Fiction is already a massive success for the studio. Its previous game, It Takes Two, became a global hit, with over 20 million units sold across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.