Remedy Entertainment has recently pulled back the curtain to reveal critical details about the development of Alan Wake 2, the highly-anticipated sequel to their survival horror classic, Alan Wake. Slated for release on October 27 across PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC platforms, the game has been in active development for approximately four years.
Though the idea for a sequel had been gestating for over a decade, the actual development took about four years, according to the studio’s Communications Director, Thomas Puha. Speaking on Twitter, Puha offered insights into the development cycle, emphasizing the relatively small scale of the team involved.
I’ll also say that somehow we are getting this game done with about 130 people on average for about 4 years of dev time (dev time is a very elastic term tho) for the quality level we got, is incredible. We are very, very far from 1st parties or other big studios resources.
— Thomas Puha (@RiotRMD) August 26, 2023
Remarkably, the development was undertaken by an average team of 130 people. Puha described this accomplishment as “incredible,” considering the studio operated without the resources available to more extensive, first-party developers.
Initially planned for a mid-October release, Alan Wake 2’s launch has been pushed back by ten days to avoid clashing with other big titles, such as Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.
“We are very, very far from 1st parties or other big studios resources,” Puha noted in his statement. Despite these limitations, the level of quality achieved by the Alan Wake 2 team is lauded by the Communications Director, setting high expectations for the title’s release later this year.