This is what Alan had to say in the first cinematic teaser trailer for the highly anticipated Alan Wake sequel that’s coming in 2022. According to Remedy Entertainment’s creative director, Sam Lake, “Alan Wake 2 is our big fish. We are diving deeper than ever, into an ocean of darkness.” He added that Alan Wake 2 is “Remedy’s first survival horror game.” and that it is the studio’s “opportunity to truly connect the gameplay and the story.”
When is Alan Wake 2 going to be released?
Unfortunately, Alan Wake fans shouldn’t get their hopes too high up. Alan Wake 2 isn’t going to be released anytime soon, as Remedy gave Alan Wake 2 a 2023 release window. The game is going to be exclusive to the Xbox Series S/X and PlayStation 5 and will be coming to Windows PCs via the Epic Games Store. As expected, Epic Games will publish Alan Wake 2. The announcement comes just a few months after it was reported that Alan Wake 2 is already in full production and follows the release of Alan Wake Remastered back in October. Alan Wake fans have been waiting for a sequel for years. The release of an Alan Wake-themed expansion for Control, AWE, only helped fuel the proverbial fire. Thankfully, Remedy finally got the publishing rights to Alan Wake from Microsoft back in 2019, with Epic Games helping bring Alan Wake back to video game life. Lake also reassured fans that playing “previous games is not required in any way to fully enjoy Alan Wake 2, but to those interested it will add to the backstory of it.”
Is Remedy working on an Alan Wake trilogy?
Alan Wake 2 is shaping up to be a much bigger game than the indie-like original. This, then, begs the question, is Remedy planning for more? We already know that a Control sequel is in the works along with a multiplayer spin-off. Plus, Remedy confirmed earlier this year that their games are part of a much bigger universe. However, as spotted by Phil Hornshaw from GameSpot, Alan Wake 2 might be a part of a larger Alan Wake trilogy. Hornshaw points out signs in the trailer’s city portion that spell out the letters “Init” and “Ion”, which combine to make the word “Initiation.” He claims that this refers to Joseph Cambell’s description of the “Monomyth” that consists of three parts: Departure, Initiation, and Return. Furthermore, he explains that “Departure” played a huge role in the first game as it is the name of what Alan wrote to help himself battle against the Dark Presence. The TL;DR version is that if Alan Wake 2 is “Initiation”, which is the middle part of the story, and Alan Wake was “Departure”, the beginning, then this suggests “Return”, a potential third part, is included in the plan. Since they now own the license for Alan Wake and they have a potential long-term publishing partner in Epic Games, it does make sense for Remedy to consider turning Alan Wake into a trilogy. Unfortunately, if this is true, don’t expect Alan Wake 3 to come anytime soon. Remedy is currently busy with at least three games: Alan Wake 2, the Control sequel, and its multiplayer spin-off. If these games will release anytime between 2023 to 2025, then Alan Wake 3 won’t be here for at least another half-decade if not longer.
