Recently, there was a report from Eurogamer where Remedy Entertainment mentioned that its award-winning game, Alan Wake II, failed to sell as well as it expected and recuperate the project’s development and marketing costs, despite Alan Wake II being Remedy’s fastest-selling game, selling one million units by the end of December 2023 and 1.3 million units as of the start of February 2024. Sadly, I feel two blaring factors are responsible for causing these concerns and why Alan Wake 2 is selling poorly, and that’s a shame.
Epic Games Store Exclusivity
In 2019, Epic Games secured exclusivity rights for Control on the Epic Games Store for $10.45 million, which later became available on Steam after a year. Subsequently, Epic Games and Remedy Entertainment struck a deal for the exclusive publishing of Remedy’s next two next-generation games, including Alan Wake 2. As a result, Alan Wake 2 skipped Steam, the preferred platform for most PC gamers.
We’re working on something exciting, something big. With @EpicGames as our publisher, we have incredible resources and full creative freedom. Thrilled about this opportunity. That said, for now that’s all I can tell you. @remedygames https://t.co/61Bl2CqIbs
— Sam Lake (@SamLakeRMD) March 26, 2020
In my mind, I feel this contributes to why Alan Wake 2 is failing to sell as well as it could. When it comes to the Epic Games Store, the PC gaming community isn’t a fan of it. There have been costless posts on Twitter, Reddit, and other places where the community has stated that they refuse to support “Tim Sweeny’s Pet Project.” I won’t go into the many reasons, but you can do a Google search and see for yourself. Regardless, the hate towards the Epic Games Store puts a big damper on the sales of Alan Wake 2, as the Epic Games Store is the only place where you can purchase the game on the PC.
Alan Wake 2 not being on Steam is a major blunder, even if Epic Games did help fund the development of Alan Wake 2. The fact that Epic Games is funding games in an attempt to keep them off Steam has caused all sorts of issues in the PC gaming market and community.
As for if or when Alan Wake 2 will eventually make it to Steam, there’s a good chance it will. Seeing how Control arrived on the PC, although an entire year later, the same could be for Alan Wake 2. At least, that’s what the PC community is hoping for. So far, neither Remedy nor Epic Games have said anything about this.
But if it does end up on Steam, It’s more than likely that Remedy will see an influx of sales.
Alan Wake 2 Is a Digital-only Game on Consoles
Prior to its launch, Remedy Entertainment announced that Alan Wake 2 would be exclusively released in digital format across all platforms. This decision sparked controversy within the gaming community, which was already divided over the digital versus physical game debate.
Advocates of physical games argue that they preserve gaming history and provide tangible ownership, contrasting with the convenience and space-saving benefits of digital games. Remedy’s choice to release Alan Wake 2 solely in digital format alienated potential buyers, especially those who prefer physical copies. The latter didn’t help sales of the game at all.
Of course, the game is still fairly young, released on October 27, 2023, and there’s plenty of time for Alan Wake 2 to find big success long-term. As for Remedy’s next title, the publisher is still locked into a partnership with Epic Games, so don’t expect to see it launched on Steam. Though, I do wonder if the next Remedy game will be another digital-only game on game consoles.
Check out The Outerhaven’s review of Alan Wake 2.
