Alan Wake 2 had been one of the better titles to release in 2023. While faring very well in the eyes of various critics, the game could not make a considerable impact commercially. As per the studio’s financial reports captured between January and December 2023, revenue declined by 22%.
Remedy Entertainment is an independent studio; taking that into account, along with the studio’s latest $75 million budget, which has still not been recuperated, is most certainly bad news. However, the studio suffered another big blow due to a rebranded project that set the company back by another $7.8 million.
Alan Wake 2 Is Only Part of the Reason for the State of Remedy’s Financial Reports
As mentioned, the studio published an official financial report for 2023. At the very beginning of the report, one can see the studio’s admission of the year being challenging. Moving further down, one can see the revenue statistics for the year.
Additionally, the change in leadership that occurred in the company was also highlighted as expected because organizational changes at the highest level often account for strategic changes in the studio’s financial plans. Most importantly, the company stated the following in its financial report:
Remedy recognized an impairment charge of EUR 7.2 million for Q4 and fiscal year 2023 results, comprising the total capitalized development costs for codename Vanguard.
For context, a title was being developed at the studio. It was codenamed Vanguard, a free-to-play multiplayer title, and then switched to a premium title with vital co-op elements. This was stated in a press release here.
The reason for the same was also highlighted in the press release, as follows:
Due to uncertainties in creating a successful game to the rapidly changing free-to-play market and associated risks, the parties have discussed a new direction for the game project…
It was also revealed that the project would be codenamed Kestrel. It was also revealed in the press release that the project was at the end of its proof-of-concept stage and will now be in its concept phase, with some of the team members working on other ongoing projects and others working on the reboot.
What’s Next for Remedy After Alan Wake 2?
The company’s financial report stated that the studio had gained full rights over the Control IP from 505 Games. Besides Codename Kestrel, Control 2 is in the proof-of-concept stage. Project Condor is also in the production readiness stage. The latter is also a co-op multiplayer game set in the former’s universe.
A remake of the two Max Payne games is also ready to start production. Moreover, two paid expansions for Alan Wake 2 are in the works, which will help recuperate the cost of the title’s production. A studio like Remedy, which pays so much attention to every little detail, should not face a revenue crisis. Per the studio’s heads, revenue is expected to improve in the coming year.
What do you think of Alan Wake 2? Did you try it out? Or was the barrier to entry too much for you, as the first installment wasn’t as popular? Let us know in the comment section below.
