Remedy’s Alan Wake 2, released in October 2023, was the long-awaited sequel to 2010’s Alan Wake and the beginning of the Remedy Connected Universe, which also includes Control, another popular game by Remedy. While Alan Wake had some survival horror elements, it wasn’t a true survival horror game. Alan Wake 2, however, was made with survival horror in mind, and it’s one of the game’s strongest assets.
Unfortunately, even though Alan Wake 2 has garnered high reviews and won multiple awards at the 2023 Video Game Awards, it still hasn’t been able to make a profit yet. That may change once the game receives its two pieces of DLC later this year.
Why Hasn’t Alan Wake 2 Made a Profit?
In February, Remedy announced that Alan Wake 2 had sold 1.3 million units, a number that has surely increased in the past two months. It sold 1.3 million units from when it launched in October to the middle of February, making it Remedy’s fastest-selling game to date. Unfortunately, despite that, the game still hasn’t been profitable for Remedy.
One reason it hasn’t made a profit yet is that while horror franchises like Resident Evil and Silent Hill are popular, horror/survival horror as a whole is a niche genre in gaming. On top of that, Alan Wake 2 is a sequel to a 13-year-old game, a sequel many fans wanted, but a decades-long sequel nonetheless.
Digital vs Physical
Another issue keeping Alan Wake 2 from being profitable is that it can only be bought digitally from the Epic Games Store for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The game requires over 80 GB of free space on each platform, and not everyone has the internet speed or reliability to download a game that large.
The game’s exclusivity to the Epic Game Store and not on Steam is, no doubt, another huge reason why a profit has not yet been made. Considering that Epic Games funded the development of Alan Wake 2, it’s anyone’s guess whether they’ll ever allow it to come to Steam or keep it as an Epic Games Store exclusive, which will more than likely continue. It hasn’t turned to impacting the game’s sales.
Hope of Physical and Steam Release?
The original Alan Wake was a Microsoft exclusive when it launched in 2010 but eventually made its way to PC a couple of years later, in 2012. In a Tweet in 2019, Remedy’s Creative Director Sam Lake confirmed that Remedy had acquired the rights to Alan Wake. In late 2021, a remastered version of the game came to PS4, PS5, PC, and even the Nintendo Switch.
Most Epic Games Store exclusives are usually only exclusive to the platform for about a year and the then allowed to be listed on Steam and other PC platforms. Whether Alan Wake 2 being fully funded by Epic Games will change this or not remains to be seen when the game turns 1-year old in October.
Rewards and Accolades
Even though Alan Wake 2 hasn’t made a profit yet, it’s earned its 1.3 million units sold with a score of 89 on Metacritic. It also took home Best Narrative, Best Game Direction, and Best Art Direction from the 2023 Video Game Awards. Although it lost Game of the Year to Baldur’s Gate 3 last year, taking home three awards is still an excellent showing and shows off the love, care, and quality that Remedy put into the game.
If you’ve been wanting/meaning to play Alan Wake 2, you can get it from the Epic Games Store.
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