After 13 years of waiting, the Alan Wake series is about to take its next step forward with Alan Wake 2. In spite of the 2012 downloadable title Alan Wake's American Nightmare, as well as the Alan Wake-based DLC for Control, this marks the first true development in Alan Wake's narrative since 2010. Appropriately, it returns to Alan Wake himself after 13 in-universe years spent struggling to write a complete narrative that will help him escape his predicament in Cauldron Lake. Whether his latest attempt will work and how newcomer Saga Anderson fits into it all are likely going to be the main questions Alan Wake 2 will tackle.

Many fans are excited to revisit Bright Falls, Washington once again, especially with the extra perspective they've gained through supplementary materials and the established link between Alan Wake and Control. Writer and creative director Sam Lake has stated that Remedy Entertainment’s past games are not required to understand Alan Wake 2, but there is an unspoken promise that veteran fans will appreciate what they see. Hopefully the gameplay and story of Alan Wake 2 can deliver after such a long absence, and whatever comes next doesn't get hit with writer's block again.

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Fans Weren’t The Only Ones Waiting For Alan Wake 2

There is a lot of subtext between Alan Wake's own struggles and those of his creators, even as far back as Alan Wake. Alan and his wife originally came to Bright Falls in an attempt to break his writer's block, and the 2010 release of Alan Wake emerged from five years of troubled development. The last two years were spent reworking the once-open-world game into something linear and episodic, which worked well with both the story Remedy wanted to tell and its typical live-action television aesthetic. However, all of these clever parallels couldn't make what came next any more pleasant.

Alan Wake's American Nightmare disappointed fans expecting a continuation and possible conclusion to Alan Wake’s story, but it was the best Remedy could manage at the time. Inspiration for Alan’s next steps ran dry, other projects like Quantum Break, Control, and CrossfireX built up, and an Alan Wake remaster ended up being necessary to catch fans up before Alan Wake 2 proper. While it is fitting that American Nightmare represents Alan's failed escape attempts and the 13 years in between numbered entries were incorporated into Alan Wake 2, it would still be better for this story not to stall out again.

Any Preparations For Alan Wake 3 Need To Start Quickly

It's currently unclear where Alan Wake 2 will take its story, and if that will result in an ending. Control 2 has already been announced, and Remedy Entertainment has also started work on remaking Max Payne 1 and 2. Said titles will likely take precedence over an Alan Wake 3 for a while, but if another entry is necessary to conclude things, it should enter production alongside them. 13 years is a long time to wait for a narrative-focused franchise to continue, and it’s fortunate that Remedy still had fans waiting eagerly to see more from the troubled writer.

With the future so uncertain, a lot of fans would prefer if a clear endpoint to Alan Wake’s story is at least established by the end of Alan Wake 2 without its universe bloating too much. Whether that comes in another game, some DLC, or Control 2 isn’t as important as knowing it isn’t too far away. Hopefully, with that kind of guiding light in place, Remedy can smoothly bring the Alan Wake franchise to its conclusion and guarantee that no one needs to settle in for another long wait.

Alan Wake 2 releases October 27, 2023, for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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