Alan Wake was the first Remedy Entertainment game where we were already planning a sequel when we were working on the first game. It was a lesson learned from Max Payne, our hit game, where the idea of a sequel never came to us. crossed the mind before the release of the game. With Max Payne, everything went very well in the end, even if the first story was not planned with a sequel in mind. But so, with Alan Wake, we thought of a sequel very early on.
When at the end of the game we let Alan Wake escape into the supernatural nightmarish dimension of Dark Place, it felt like a fitting ending to our horror story, but also like a cool cliffhanger of things to come. Alan Wake talks about the laws of drama, and we knew that for the story to continue, for Alan Wake to survive, it would have to be a tough journey for him. We had no idea it would be a tough trip for us at Remedy as well. But looking back, it’s clear that it must have been a rough journey, as Alan Wake is more about the struggle to create a work of art. Fiction becomes reality. And that’s also the reason, for his artist process themes, that Alan Wake has always meant the world to me.
The images in this article are from the CG trailer, not the actual gameplay.
For over a decade after Alan Wake, between each project we did, I worked enthusiastically on Alan Wake 2 with a small core team, imagining different incarnations of the concept. But getting a great funded and informed gaming project is a complex endeavor that depends on a lot of things, some of which are beyond our control. We never gave up hope. On the contrary, we have become more determined over the years. Each version of the concept was better than the last. It’s easy to feel happy and excited now that Alan Wake 2 finally takes place based on our latest iteration of the concept, not the ones that came before it. We are so happy to be at this point, after so much hard work, to share our enthusiasm with you.
With Control, our game of 2019, we created the Remedy Connected Universe, where Control and Alan Wake exist in the same universe. Control’s second expansion, AWE, creates a crossover event between the two games and foreshadows things to come. Control was the first Remedy Universe game for PlayStation. And after that, we had the perfect opportunity to release Alan Wake Remastered on PlayStation as well this fall. It was wonderful to see so many of you visiting the small town of Bright Falls for the first time.
I also want to make it clear that playing our previous games is by no means necessary to fully enjoy Alan Wake 2, but for those who are interested, it will add to the backstory of it.
We have now announced Alan Wake 2. It’s a monumental moment for us at Remedy. For me personally. Prior to the announcement, our internal code name for the sequel was Project Big Fish. David Lynch said, “Ideas are like fish. If you want to catch small fish, you can stay in shallow water. But if you want to catch the big fish, you have to go deeper. Alan Wake 2 is our big fish. We are diving deeper than ever, into an ocean of darkness.
While the first Alan Wake contained elements of horror, it was an action game. Alan Wake 2 is Remedy’s first survival horror game. Our vision of the genre. Our opportunity to really connect gameplay and story. It is a deep and layered mystery. So, Alan Wake 2 confirmed and coming in 2023 presented by Epic Games Publishing. Thanks to our longtime fans this is what you have been waiting for, and welcome to those who are just new to Alan Wake’s story.
