Alan Wake 2 is 'going well' but Remedy won't be showing it off this summer

YouTube YouTube
Watch On

Remedy announced in 2018 that the spooky sleeper hit Alan Wake was being adapted for television. An awful lot has happened since, including the Remedy Connnected Universe, Max Payne remakes, and—finally—Alan Wake 2. But while we haven't heard anything about the TV show since it was first announced, Remedy creative director Sam Lake confirmed today that it's still on and moving ahead.

"As we know, sometimes making videogames takes a long while," Lake said during the 12th anniversary update video. "Well, it kind of turns out that now and again, making a TV show can take even longer.

"Some of you might remember that we were, quite awhile ago, talking about the Alan Wake TV show. Well, AMC, the wonderful, wonderful home for absolutely brilliant TV shows, has bought the rights for Alan Wake. And we have been collaborating on making a TV show happen. Nothing more to share at the moment, but we will certainly let you know when there is something to announce."

Lake, along with Alan Wake performance actor Ilkka Villi and voice actor Matthew Porretta, also discussed the studio's approach to Alan Wake 2, which it described at the 2021 Game Awards as "Remedy's first-ever survival horror game."

"It's a new genre, and we are pushing further into the horror aspect of it, but also like exploring the depth of the character," Lake says in the video. Alan Wake 2 will dig deeper into "Alan Wake the person," beyond just the "terrified but cool" persona of the first game.

"We are pushing him further than ever before," Lake says. "And that's part of a horror story as well, putting the character through the wringer."

The one bit of bad news amidst all of this is that the closer look at Alan Wake 2 that was hoped-for this summer is not going to happen. 

"Everything is going well," Lake explains. "A great deal of the game is playable. We are iterating it. But we've been talking the past couple of months and we've come to a decision that we will not be showing anything big this summer. We want to make sure that we are creating the best possible experience, the best first survival horror game for Remedy. We don't want to pivot the team away from that focus to work on a demo right now. Unfortunately, you will have to wait for a proper demo and trailer a bit longer."

On the upside, there was no mention of a delay in the game itself: It's still slated to arrive sometime in 2023. We also got a look at a few pieces of concept art that you can check out below.

Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.

Read more
An image of Alan Wake from Alan Wake 2's rock opera-style song, Herald of Darkness, lifting a hand to the sky while the other bundles on his chest.
After more than a year and 2 million sales, Alan Wake 2 is finally turning a profit for Remedy
Silent Hill f transmission trailer screenshots
'We've been keeping fans waiting for an awfully long time': We finally got to see more of Silent Hill f and boy, does it look great
Phyre, the Elder Kindred from Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2, stares intently at something in the distance, a frown writ into their forehead.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has been delayed again, but I'm not too worried—I've played it, and it's looking great
Fallout TV show - the ghoul holds a canteen in the wasteland
Fallout season 2—what we know about the next season set in New Vegas
A jumpsuit-clad Lucy, played by Ella Purnell, emerges from a vault in the Fallout TV series.
Ella Purnell and Walton Goggins sure are excited for everyone to see Fallout season 2: 'No one's going to be able to predict what happens. There's some big twists this time around'
A ferocious fish-man
Frogwares shows off The Sinking City 2's first in-game footage and launches a Kickstarter safety net: 'After 3 years of this horrid war hanging over our daily lives, we've learned to adapt'
Latest in Adventure
Image of illuminated manuscript-style drawings from the game Pentiment.
Random characters kept swearing in Obsidian's font-obsessed murder-mystery when its procedural error system ran amok: 'Naughtiness abounded'
An image of a corpse with the text "You've been re-educated."
I played the lost videogame sequel to 1984, and came away more nostalgic than ever for gaming's awkward adolescence in 1999
Rosella encounters a satyr in a forest in King's Quest 4
Eagle-eyed streamer spots that Roberta Williams' portrait in King's Quest 4 is based on her author photo on the back of the game box: 'I never noticed it before.'
Myst puzzle game
'You’ve been asking, and we’ve been listening': Myst remake adds a whole new world to the classic adventure, one originally introduced in another overhaul from 25 years ago
The character takes a test in a school room.
Expelled! review
Max, protagonist of Life is Strange and Life is Strange: Double Exposure, stares with trepidation at something off-screen with her friend.
Life is Strange: Double Exposure reportedly a 'large loss' for Square Enix, says analyst, who adds: 'The company's IP fundamentally varies too much between good and bad'
Latest in News
A gigantic terracotta sentinel made of living armor
Total War: Warhammer 3's army of Cathay has broken containment and is making its way to tabletop Warhammer at last
Two brightly colored stormtroopers dressed like Run-DMC stand in front of PAX Australia's WELCOME HOME banner.
Tickets for PAX Australia 2025 are on sale now
An Enshrouded player in a recreation of Erebor from The Lord of the Rings
Kings under the Mountain! 33 Enshrouded players spent 10,000 hours to recreate this iconic location from The Lord of the Rings
A mech awakens.
Mecha Break developer is considering unlocking all mechs following open beta feedback
Lara Croft Unified Art
Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics lays off 17 employees 'to better align our current business needs and the studio's future success'
A long bendy arm stealing money from people in a subway car
'You're a very long arm. You steal things. It's a comedy game,' explains developer of comedy game where you steal things with a very long arm