The ever-shrinking attention span of consumers and the constant bombardment of new stuff means everyone is quick to move on to the next best thing. This truth applies in video games as well. Unless you’re Rockstar Games, you can’t simply afford waiting over a decade to release a sequel to your game, especially if it’s a cult-classic. Remedy Entertainment is finding out about this the hard way.
Months after confirming that it had yet to profit from Alan Wake 2, Remedy doubled down on its earlier statement. Apparently, Alan Wake 2, despite topping sales charts, still hasn’t made the studio money yet. But it firmly believes that, like with Control, the long-tail sales of Alan Wake 2 will be strong. Of course, not content with just leaving the sales of its upcoming titles to chance, Remedy is looking to speed things up so it can release games, specifically sequels like Alan Wake 3 and Control 2, sooner rather than later.
Remedy confirmed all of this in its most recent financial report, where it also revealed that Rockstar is fully funding development on the Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake.
After the success of Alan Wake 2 and the continued interest in the Control universe, CEO Tero Virtala announced the Finnish company’s ambitious plans during its full-year financial results. Remedy aims to transform both Alan Wake and Control into franchises with “high brand recognition” and a “steadily growing user base.” This strategy includes a “more regular cadence of sequels” to ensure these titles continue to remain atop of mainstream consciousness and generate significant revenues.
With Control 2 currently in the proof-of-concept stage, Remedy is focusing on its world building and combat mechanics while developing Codename Condor, a co-operative multiplayer game set in the Remedy Connected Universe.
As these titles move on to the next stage of development, the studio hopes its multi-project model will help it deliver a series of games at a more consistent clip.
Overall, despite the challenges, including a decline in revenue and an operating loss, a result of increased investments and the reboot of Codename Vanguard (now Codename Kestrel), Remedy remains optimistic. Furthermore, the acquisition of full ownership to the Control franchise from 505 Games is a positive step, enabling Remedy to pursue a different business model and potentially new partnerships for future titles.
Finally, the release of the second DLC for Alan Wake 2 later this year should add to the steady growth of the game’s sales.
