Skip to main content PC Gamer THE GLOBAL AUTHORITY ON PC GAMES Search PC Gamer View Profile Movies & TV Gaming Industry PC Gaming Show Newsletter Signup Community Guidelines Affiliate Links Meet the team About PC Gamer PC Gamer Magazine Subscription Why subscribe? Subscribe to the world's #1 PC gaming mag Try a single issue or save on a subscription Issues delivered straight to your door or device From£35.99View Spring Prime Day Monster Hunter Wilds Marvel Rivals Split Fiction Co-op hit Split Fiction now holds three Guinness World Records that seem destined to be won specifically by co-op hit Split Fiction Justin Wagner 28 March 2025 Hazelight's acclaimed run of co-op hits is apparently smashing records. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Hazelight Studios) Hazelight has been on something of a tear lately with its signature co-op adventures. Its latest game, Split Fiction, has been lighting the sales charts on fire and left PC Gamer editor Fraser Brown thoroughly impressed—he called it "one of the greatest co-op games around." The game is making its requisite victory lap around the headlines, with the latest word on the street being that it smashed three Guinness World Records within a week of its release. The records—most played local co-op videogame on Steam, most sold local co-op videogame within 48 hours of release, and most sold local co-op videogame within one week of release—all celebrate the game's dynamite sales numbers, though I'm not sure if they're including all games that feature local co-op or just ones that emphasize it to the same extent Hazelight games do. It's also worth noting that local co-op isn't compulsory in Split Fiction, and Guinness' other multiplayer-angled records have mostly to do with MMOs. Though, given that Resident Evil snagged one for worst dialogue in a videogame, and there's even a record for "first videogame played entirely as a wolf" (awarded to the game Wolf, appropriately), maybe I shouldn't be taking this so seriously. There's a whole application process for these things and it's not like this is going in some exhaustive archive of which co-op games achieved what when. Either way, the game is clearly rocketing the studio to new thresholds of success. It's logged hundreds of thousands of concurrent players on Steam (which the Guinness World Records article notes hit 197,434 within 24 hours), and is headed to the big screen as well. In all honesty, these records are a bit slight in their larger implications for the story of Split Fiction. The article from the Guinness World Records site reads like an enthusiastic advertisement, and "most played local co-op videogame on Steam" is getting awfully specific for a record. That said, Hazelight has come a long way since Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, so it's hard not to cheer them on in their moment of triumph. It's also a vindicating time for the "friend's pass" business model where only one player needs to buy the game to play it with their co-op partner of choice. Split Fiction might have done just fine without this strategy, but it certainly makes a playthrough an easier sell to any skeptical friends who don't own it themselves. If you'd like to see what all the fuss is about, Split Fiction is available to purchase on Steam. The biggest gaming news, reviews and hardware deals Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team. Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releases Best PC games: Our all-time favorites Free PC games: Freebie fest Best FPS games: Finest gunplay Best RPGs: Grand adventures Best co-op games: Better together Justin Wagner Social Links Navigation Justin first became enamored with PC gaming when World of Warcraft and Neverwinter Nights 2 rewired his brain as a wide-eyed kid. As time has passed, he's amassed a hefty backlog of retro shooters, CRPGs, and janky '90s esoterica. Whether he's extolling the virtues of Shenmue or troubleshooting some fiddly old MMO, it's hard to get his mind off games with more ambition than scruples. When he's not at his keyboard, he's probably birdwatching or daydreaming about a glorious comeback for real-time with pause combat. 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