Highlights
- Alan Wake 2's release date has been changed to avoid direct competition with other highly anticipated games in October.
- The delay of 10 days was a strategic decision made by Remedy Entertainment to prevent a "neck-and-neck" competition with games like Spider-Man 2.
- Alan Wake 2 will now release after other notable titles like Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man 2, which could potentially impact its success.
Remedy Entertainment explains that Alan Wake 2 has had its release date changed due to the games coming out in October, and that it didn't want to directly compete with certain titles. The developer behind the cult classic adventure revealed that Alan Wake 2 would be getting delayed earlier this month in its recent Dark Place gameplay trailer. This new release date shifted it from releasing on October 17 to October 27.
Over a decade after the original game's release, Alan Wake 2 is one of this year's highly anticipated launches. Instead of a Twin Peaks-dramedy laden tone, Alan Wake 2 is taking inspiration from survival horror games like Capcom's Resident Evil franchise. However, it is also releasing within the same month as other highly anticipated releases like Spider-Man 2. Sam Lake, the creator of Alan Wake, spoke in a recent interview about the ten-day delay and how the game ended up with its new date.
In an IGN interview with Lake, the interviewer notes the announcement of Alan Wake 2's delay was made with active transparency. According to Lake, since October is flooded with popular and highly anticipated releases, they at Remedy decided that they didn't need to compete "neck-and-neck" with them. Lake mentions that Insomniac's Spider-Man 2 was one of those contributing games, which lead to Remedy having Alan Wake 2's release shifted by a couple of days.
October was already being crowded with releases late in the month, such as Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man 2 competing against each other on the same day. Other games in the packed month include another survival horror game, Alone in the Dark, along with titles like Assassin's Creed Mirage, Forza Motorsport, and more.
This reason clashes the developers' previous statement, where Remedy wasn't concerned about the October competition and only wanted to make the best game that Alan Wake 2 could be. The game is now releasing after the aforementioned Super Mario Bros. Wonder and Spider-Man 2, the latter being on one of the same platforms that Alan Wake 2 is launching on. Whether this date will greatly affect the game's chances has yet to be seen.
Alan Wake 2 releases October 27, 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: IGN
