14 DAY TRIAL // Despite the pretty successful launch of Alan Wake, Microsoft has yet to confirm a sequel for the game, Remedy's Oskari Hakkinen says. The parent company of the Xbox 360 seems to want more episodic content for the title, meaning that a follow-up may be quite far off, given the small size of the development studio behind Alan Wake.
Asked by IGN about a possible sequel for Alan Wake, Hakkinen replied that, “We're in a limbo at the moment where neither of us are talking about it. We're still in launch phase of Alan Wake 1...but Microsoft have an option for it. That was in the deal a long time ago...and I don't see why they wouldn't. We're happy with the partnership and they're happy with the game.” He continued to comment that a sequel would take around 18 months, a lot shorter than the long development of the original Alan Wake.
According to Hakkinen, Microsoft has been trying to convince Remedy to craft more pieces of downloadable content before starting on the sequel. Remedy is too small of a team to be able to handle the tasks of both making new episodes and of creating the eventual Alan Wake 2, this being the same reason why the PC version of the action horror title never saw the light of day.
Currently, two downloadable episodes are planned, The Signal and The Writer, which will both arrive at a 7-dollar price point, that is, 560 Microsoft Points. The Signal will be available on Xbox Live Marketplace next month and will be free for the owners of new copies of Alan Wake. The two offerings are said to clock in at 90 minutes of gameplay, each providing good value for money. Microsoft will probably base its decision about what Remedy's task is on the success or failure of these micro-expansions to the title.