The Sad Truth About Finishing Video Games

Hazelight Studios has a solid resume of games, including Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons (which will make you cry). The studio seems to have another potential winner on its hands with It Takes Two. However, while studio founder and game director Josef Fares has made some big promises about It Takes Two, there's a decent chance that most gamers won't even see the new game through to the end. In a recent interview with Game Informer, Fares claimed that fewer gamers are actually completing the majority of the games they purchase. 

"I know people came up to me and said, 'Wow it's fantastic that 51 percent of players in [Hazelight's] A Way Out finished the game,' and they told me that that's an extremely high percentage number, but actually it saddens me," said Fares. "That means that 49 percent of people didn't finish it. It's not something I should be happy about."

Fares expressed his belief that there is a "mass psychosis" going on that is keeping people from actually finishing games. He explained to Game Informer that the majority of developers these days are focusing mainly on perfecting the first half of game, "because they know that's what people will play." Because of this, he thinks that gaming journalists need to stop discussing the prospect of "replayability" altogether, at least until this issue is resolved.

On that same token, it seems that Fares is confident that he and his team have cracked the code with It Takes Two. He boasted to Game Informer, "It's impossible ... to get tired of this game." He was so sure about this that he offered $1,000 to anyone who could honestly claim to be bored with It Takes Two. Seriously. Fares clarified, "One thousand bucks! I guarantee ... But they have to be honest about it."

Of course, there are plenty of reasons why people may have trouble finishing a new game, including lack of free time and other daily stressors. Back in 2011, Kotaku reported that a very small percentage of people actually finish massive games like Red Dead Redemption, and it seems like that continues to be an issue for many gamers.

It Takes Two follows the exploits of a married couple who are turned into dolls and must learn to love and trust each other again. Whether it earns you a thousand bucks or not, the co-op title will be released on March 26 for PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.