Last year's Alan Wake 2 was a triumph, not only in the survival horror genre but in AAA gaming in general. Given the high praise, it's no wonder we declared it one of our favorite games of 2023. And for good reason, too.

As well as great reviews all around, the Alan Wake follow-up has also been selling well. According to developer Remedy Entertainment, the long-awaited sequel has sold 1.3 million units, as of February 2024. A post on the developer's website says it's the faste??st-selling game the comp?any has ever released "so far."

Indeed, it's not been out for too long, so time will tell how big the game can get in terms of sales, especially once DLC hits. By comparison, Control has sold over four million units since it launched in 2019. However, AW2 has sold "over 50% more copies and over three times more digital copies in its first two months" than th??at.

Awards, they keep a-comin'

On top of this, Remedy was proud to announce that Alan Wake 2 recently received the DICE Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction." ?That's one more accolade to be thrown on the pile, right next to such wins as "Critics Choice Award" at Golden Joystick, "Best Direction" and "Best Narrative" at The Game Awards 2023, as well as some others.

Selling 1.3 million units in just a couple of months is mighty impressive, even i??f you take into account the fact that the game was launched not long before the holidays.

Of course, we also need to consider that Alan Wake 2 is a digital-only release. Whether you agreed with that decision or not, one can't help ?but wonder h??ow many more could have been sold by now if there was a physical copy available as well.

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After winning big last night at The Game Awards and bagging trophies in three major categories, Remedy Entertainment has just announced "The Final Draft" for Alan Wake 2; a major update that not only introduces the New Game Plus mode we've been waiting on, b??ut also u??nlocks an additional ending to the main story.

With all the intricate plot threads and surrealist narrative developments in Alan Wake 2, a few more playthroughs are definitely in order to wrap your head around Sam Lak?e's acclaimed sequel. And why start from scratch when you can retain all your equipment an??d instead contend with more challenging mobs?

The studio is teasing numerous "subtle additions" in the New Game Plus experience, including a Nightmare Difficulty setting and even new manuscript pages and videos. There are also bug fixes and performance optimizations, which might help the demanding game run more smoothly on older PC hardware. The Final Draft is scheduled to go live on Decemb??er 11.

How to unlock the New Game Plus mode in Alan Wake 2

It goe??s without saying that a completed playthrough of the game is required to unlock the New Game Plus, but it looks like the new additions in The Final Draft will also require you to finish the game at least once.

You retain all your Charms and character upgrades, but the weapons will be found in the character's first available shoebox, as opposed to their i??nventory.

It's unclear if the new ending can be unlocked during your first playthrough, though with two more expansion packs (Night Springs and The Lake House) coming our way in 2024 and beyond, this probably won't serve as the definitive conclusion to ??the stories of our main protagonists.

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Last April, it was announced that Max Payne 1&2 are getting remade with help from Rockstar Games. Now, studio Remed??y Entertainment has said the p??roject is in the next stage of development.

Hot off the recent success of Alan Wake 2, a recent note to investors outlines a number of titles Remedy is currently busy with. While Control 2 is still in the "proof-of-concept stage," Max Payne has "progressed? into the production readiness sta?ge."

Non-developers like me don't fully understand what this entails, but it sure sounds like things are moving forward for the remake. The note goes on to say that ??the studio has "gained clarity on the style and scope of the game" and is confident it has an "exceptionally well-organized team working on it."

Bringing the Payne once more

Released in 2001, the first Max Payne entry was notable for its gritty, noir storyline and Matrix-inspired bullet time mechanic. It was also only the second gam??e by Remedy Entertainment, but it certainly put them on the map.

Following the 2003 sequel, the series went on hiatus until Rockstar took over the?? IP fo?r the third installment, which was released in 2012.

We still don't know when the remake of the first two games will see the light of day, but progress is coming along, it seems. We know that both Max Payne titles will be releasing "as? a single title" that will launch on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.

With the warm reception Alan Wake 2 has received since launch, a lot of attention is on Sam Lake and the team at Remedy to see where things go from here. Many reading th?is will no doubt look forward to a modern retelling of the bleak story about a man whose name basically means "a large amount of agony."

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While Alan Wake 2 can certainly fall under the horror category, it's hard to know whether the game will be scary or not. However, what we can say for certain is that there will be some additional c?ontent coming post-release, some of which will be free.

Director Sam Lake confirmed at EGX (in a Twitter post retweeted by Lake himself) that Alan Wake 2 will be getting? some "free DLC drops" which are said to be "pretty significant." At this stage, there's no information about what this new content will be.

However, in the short clip attached to the tweet, Lake goes on to say that the team will be able to go "more into detail pretty soon after the game is out," and that all this DLC "will be f??ree for everyone" who has the game.

A turn-up for the books

It also looks as though Alan Wake 2 will also get some paid DLC. Again, not much is known about this yet. The sequel it?self has yet to come out, but it's nice to know that there's more on the horizon.

It's been 13 years since the origin?al installment? came out on Xbox 360. While it may not have been much of a horror game-changer, it certainly left an impression on fans of the genre.

Now, with the second entry releasing on October 27, the long wait is finally nearly over. Also, if you're looking to get a new graphics card soon, you might be interested to learn that Alan Wake 2 is free with purchases of select Nvidia GPUs.

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Did you have trouble getting into Max Payne 3’s melancholic bullet-time extravaganza but couldn’t put your finger on why? I’ll tell you: it’s because the eponymous pouty-pants wasn’t wearing the face of Sam Lake, the original face model for Max Payne. Now’s your chance to finally get immersed in the dour, g??ritty spectacle with a new mod that transforms Max’s face back to the? way the Gods of Visage intended.

The mod comes to use from Nexus user Alexsavvy. It’s no hack job either, as Max’s goes through a lot of abuse throughout the game. Alexsavvy has made sure that every scrape, bump, and misplaced strand of hair still refle??cts on the hero’s mug. Meanwhile, the distinct nonplussed look of the New York detective stays in place while he’s still able to move and show the full range of emotions that the original Max model did.

//youtu.be/qAoKMhw5QmM

It goes even beyond that, as the burly physique of Max has b??een paired down, and all of his clothes have been altered to fit. To give a better idea of the changes, here’s what Alexsavvy had to say in their own words.

“In total, the mod replaces 98 models and 66 textures. Plus, models and textures in the mirror for the scene where Max shaves his head. Yes, you will see how Sam Lake shaves his head!�/p>

It looks great, and I am tempted to give the game another playthrough just?? to check this mod out in closer detail. Sam Lake probably didn’t give permission for the use of his face, but knowing the guy (not personally), I imagine he’d be flattered. Oh, as it turns out, he just might be.

//twit??ter.com/SamLakeRMD/status/1683864006233137152?s=20

You can grab the Sam Lake mod over here on Nexus.

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Alan Wake 2 is still deep in development

Today marks the 12th anniversary of Alan Wake, and Remedy released a little bit of news to celebrate. Alongside updates on Alan's TV and sequel prospects, Remedy also confirmed that Alan Wake Remastered is coming to Nintendo Switch this fall.

In a new video, Creative Director Sam Lake confirms the dark adventure is coming to Nintendo's handheld sometime this fall. No date's been locked down yet. But in a press release, Remedy says Alan Wake Remastered will be a digital-only release, running natively on th??e hardware. More is on the way in the coming months.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zoI3Egf-IQ

Remedy also provided an update on Alan Wake 2. The recently revealed sequel to 2010's Alan Wake is in development, and Lake says everything is going well, even that a "great deal" of the game is playable. But the studio and publisher Epi?c Games determined that they won't be showing anything "big" this summer.

"To create a proper, polished demo or a trailer takes a lot of effort, and it's several months of work that could take away from developmen??t," said Lake. "We feel that we have momentum going, and we want to make sure we are creating the best, and first, survival horror game for Remedy. We don't want to take the team away from that focus, so ??we're going to keep going and making a great game experience, and unfortunately, you'll have to wait a bit longer for a demo and trailer."

Light up the night

The team did, however, release some concept art for Alan Wake 2 to give a sense of the vi?be they're working on. It certainly does look scary.

Alan Wake 2 is still aiming for a 2023 launch. One more update came in for the world of Alan Wake, too. Plans are still in the works for an Alan Wake TV show, but today, Remedy confirms that AMC Networks has bought the rights for the Alan Wake series.

Things are still progressing, but dang, it seems like a good time to be an Alan Wake follower. I'm definitely looking forward to seeing more about how well Alan Wake Remastered runs natively on Switch as we head into the fall.

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Remedy is going for full-on survival horror

Remedy's ill-fated writer is returning for another terror-filled night. Alan Wake 2 is on its way, currently targeting a 2023 launch.

Announced during The Game Awards 2021, Remedy Entertainment will be continuing the story of the first Alan Wake. Which, hey, works out pretty well considering that remastered version came out earli?er this year.

Here's the teaser shown during the Game Awards:

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=crQobuzpVps

In a chat on-air after the reveal, Remedy's Sam Lake said this will be the studio's "first survival horror" game. While the previous game definitely had horror elements, sounds like things are going to get even more dicey for our beloved writer in Alan Wake 2.

Considering the Alan Wake universe is also tied into Remedy's Control universe, it'll be interesting to see where things go for a new entry. Could it cross over onto itself, the way that Ubisoft's universes link together? I know I'd be down for a cameo from Control protagonist Jesse Faden, though that might be a bit much. But if you needed another reason to finally get around to playing the first Alan Wake, here it is.

Alan Wake 2 will be coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S,???? and PC via Epic Games Store in 2023.

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