Remedy Entertainment now completely owns the rights to Alan Wake, but that doesn't mean Alan Wake 2 is going to happen yet. One of the most treasured development teams in the video game industry today, Remedy is best known for their work on the first two Max Payne video games, Alan Wake, and Quantum Break. They've always been on the cutting edge of cinematic presentation, fast-paced gunplay, and genre-bending settings with strong lead characters and winding, thematically rich storytelling.
While the studio is currently gearing up for the launch of Control, they're also making behind-the-scenes moves which could mean big things for the company's future. The publishing rights to Alan Wake now belong to Remedy, which reverted back from Microsoft, who published the original game on the Xbox 360 in 2010. While it's been seven years since Alan Wake's American Nightmare released, we're still no closer to seeing Alan Wake 2 happen. Remedy likely won't jump right into a sequel, and even if they do, video game development tends to take a few years at the very least. But that doesn't mean Remedy fans shouldn't get excited for other reasons, since Remedy teased, via Eurogamer, the possibility of Alan Wake coming to non-Xbox platforms.
Like Max Payne before it, Alan Wake was groundbreaking for its compelling storyline, engaging shooting, and flawless implementation of Remedy's signature brand of fearless "weirdness." The story of a writer who finds the lines of reality and fiction blurring as his own manuscript seemingly comes to life, Alan Wake shocked audiences with its provocative sensibilities, action-packed set pieces, and horror trimmings. But Alan Wake only released on Xbox 360 and PC. Now that Remedy owns the publishing rights to the game, it's only reasonable to expect they would be eager to get the game out on PlayStation 4, allowing a whole new audience of players to experience the game they missed out on all those years ago. Since Alan Wake was an Xbox 360 game, it wouldn't be unrealistic to place a bet on the possibility of a Nintendo Switch version, though it's important to understand nothing has been officially announced yet.
Basically, while some gamers would love for Remedy to jump straight into Alan Wake 2, it's unreasonable to expect that game for at least two more years. Then again, the prospect of an Alan Wake Remastered is stronger than ever. Getting Alan Wake in front of people who never played it in 2010, especially those who've only recently come into gaming this console generation, would be Remedy's goal before jumping into a sequel. It just wouldn't make sense to make Alan Wake 2 yet, and Remedy knows that. By this time next year, a complete package containing Alan Wake, its two DLC episodes, and the semi-sequel spin-off, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, could be on the horizon. Porting the game over to PS4 and updating it for Xbox One might be the best thing before the next console generation starts up.
It's a good time to be a fan of Remedy right now. Control is one of the most hotly-anticipated games of 2019, and the company is closer than ever to working on Alan Wake 2. The machinations of game development take time, however, and gamers who have been waiting nearly a decade for a new Alan Wake game will have to contend with waiting a bit longer for Alan's journey through the night to continue. If a re-release or remaster is successful, then there's no reason to assume Alan Wake 2 won't happen in the future.