Remedy, developer of Alan Wake 2, reported revenue of €10.8 million this quarter, a 56.2% increase compared to the same period in 2023.

They say that long-delayed sequels are problematic because they try to appeal to viewers who have long since defected from the given production. In the case of video games, the perception is different. Waiting 13 years for Alan Wake 2 not only attracted the attention of veterans but also attracted newcomers. But the return of the frustrated writer did not only bring good. Remedy is satisfied with the game’s financial results. However, it still did not get back its original budget.

As video games have become massive productions that are closer to true blockbusters than anything else, budgets have increased along with the time invested.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 was rumoured to have a budget of $300 million, which was just slightly less than 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. The 200 million invested in Star Wars: The Old Republic and the 174 million euros invested in Cyberpunk 2077 are other examples. (This does not include the amount invested in patches…)

In this context of huge budgets, although we don’t know for sure the initial budget of Alan Wake 2, according to the data, a total of 70 million euros should be distributed between development and marketing. It has a tiny budget compared to the aforementioned games. However, according to the Finnish company, it still hasn’t paid off. Even though they sold nearly two million units in just over two months!

In the company’s latest financial report, Remedy CEO Tero Virtala hints that “a significant portion of the development and marketing costs” will be “returned” in the first quarter of 2024, although the total amount appears to be out of their hands for now. However, this does not mean that the European company is in trouble.

As with the first Alan Wake, the Finnish government most likely financed part of the development of the game; the rest fell to Epic Games, which owns the publishing rights of the license.

Therefore, there is no way Remedy can enjoy the profits from the return of Alan Wake to the game. In the same report, Virtala said its revenue for the quarter was 10.8 million euros. This represents a 56.2 per cent increase compared to the first quarter of last year, which sounds great, but the question is how much of all this the studio can keep.

Can Tencent invest more into Alan Wake 2 creators’ studio?!

Tencent has taken an aggressive and important step in recent days. The Chinese company has increased its stake in Remedy, the studio of the creators of Alan Wake 2. He currently owns 2,000,716 shares, representing a 14.8% stake.

It should be noted that this is not the first time they are buying, as the Chinese giant started investing in Remedy in May 2021, when it acquired a 3.8% stake, according to VGC.

At the end of 2022, he increased his investment to 5.01%. But it has tripled its stake in recent days. It should be remembered that one of Remedy’s projects is Codename Kestrel, the development of which was restarted at the end of 2023. It was initially intended to be a free-to-play title, but Remedy intends it to be a “premium game with a strong cooperative multiplayer component.” This is currently in the concept phase, and it looks like it’s still quite a few years away. Their financial situation justifies such steps, and there will certainly be demand for their products in the Chinese market.

Source: Forbes, Business Finland, VGC