A brand-new trailer for Remedy’s upcoming sequel to 2010’s Alan Wake, Alan Wake 2, was revealed at yesterday’s PlayStation Showcase, showing off new gameplay, characters, and a release date of October 17, 2023. However, the trailer omitted the fact that Alan Wake 2 will only be available to purchase as a digital download. As revealed in the FAQs on the game’s official website, this decision has been made for “many reasons”. The main being the notion that “a large number of [players] have shifted to digital only.” Remedy ensures fans that this doesn’t mean the game is anything less than a full-fledged release, only that “it is not uncommon to release modern games as digital-only”.
The second reason is one most fans would be happy to get on board with. According to the developers, “not releasing a disc helps keep the price of the game at $59.99 / €59.99 and the PC version at $49.99 / €49.99”. As well as the fact that this way, fans can purchase and pre-install the game prior to its release, rather than wait for a disk that still requires a large data download to play. Because of all this, there are currently no plans to ever release a physical version of the game.
Two versions will be available to pre-order, the Standard version and the Deluxe Edition. The Deluxe Edition comes with: Expansion Pass (Night Springs Expansion and Lake House Expansion), Nordic Shotgun Skin for Saga (Part of the Expansion Pass), Parliament Shotgun Skin for Alan, Crimson Windbreaker for Saga, Celebrity Suit for Alan, and Lantern Charm for Saga. There is also a Pre-order Bonus for both editions which includes Ornate Revolver Skin for Alan and Survival Resources Pack for Saga.
As suggested by the inclusion of an Expansion Pass, Alan Wake 2 will receive two future expansions post-release, though other than their names, no information regarding what they might entail has been provided.
Also confirmed by the FAQs is the fact that the FBI profiler revealed in the new trailer will indeed be a second playable character, and is named Saga Anderson. But whether she is real flesh and blood or simply a character from Alan’s new book brought to life by his twisted imagination remains to be seen.
Alan Wake 2 releases on October 17, 2023, for PC on the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
