Highlights
- Remedy Entertainment has cancelled the multiplayer co-op game Kestrel to focus on other projects like Control 2 and Max Payne 1+2 Remake.
- Kestrel was the multiplayer game being co-financed and co-published with Tencent and not the Control multiplayer game, codenamed Condor.
- Remedy expressed its appreciation of Tencent and thanked the company for its support.
Acclaimed game developer Remedy Entertainment has announced the cancellation of its co-op multiplayer game, codenamed Kestrel. This decision comes amid Remedy prioritizing the allocation of resources towards other ongoing projects within its portfolio.
Historically renowned for its single-player experiences like the Alan Wake and Control series, Remedy's foray into multiplayer development with Kestrel was a departure from the norm. It wasn't the only multiplayer game the studio was working on, though, because it also confirmed the existence of a Control multiplayer spin-off codenamed Condor. According to recent updates from Remedy about its upcoming projects, Condor has moved into the full production stage, but the Kestrel team was still working on refining the concept.
Remedy's Sam Lake Working With Hideo Kojima
Remedy Entertainment creative director Sam Lake and Hideo Kojima are working on a mysterious project together at Kojima Productions.
As it turns out, Kestrel won't ever see the light of day, as Remedy has decided to cancel the premium multiplayer co-op game entirely. According to a new press release from Remedy, the decision to cancel Kestrel allows the studio to dedicate more resources to its other ongoing projects, namely Control 2, Max Payne 1+2 Remake, and Condor. Remedy will reassign Kestrel's developers to these projects, as well as remove its future "investment needs" and scale back hiring efforts. Since the Remedy game was being co-financed by Tencent, it's also presumed that Remedy has ended its relationship with the company for the moment.
Kestrel Was in the Proof-of-concept Stage for Over 2 Years
Remedy CEO Tero Virtala thanked Tencent for the partnership in the press release and praised its support. The project initially started life under the codename Vanguard and was announced to be in development all the way back in 2021, eventually being completely rebooted as Kestrel in November 2023. It was speculated that the game was undergoing some form of turmoil during its development, having been in the early concept stage for nearly two and a half years, while other projects progressed on schedule.
The cancellation helps streamline the studio's development pipeline, and the influx of developers to other projects will undoubtedly help expedite their timelines. It can also be argued that with four high-caliber AAA games in development prior to Kestrel's cancellation, Remedy may have been stretched too thin. The decision to discontinue Kestrel was primarily about focus. Remedy remains confident in Condor, its other multiplayer project which is still currently in development, and with Control 2 and Max Payne 1+2 Remake on track as well, the next few years may yet be prosperous for the decorated studio.
