Remedy’s Sam Lake ‘Went Away For Half A Year’ After Finishing Development On Alan Wake 2

Alan Wake 2, from early concepts way back in the day to its final release in late 2023, was long in the making over at Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment. In the end, it all felt worth the wait when the Alan Wake sequel landed with a bang a few years back – but development did take its toll on the people making it.

In a new interview with The Game Business, Remedy’s Sam Lake discussed the development process that went into making Alan Wake 2 – and how the veteran developer had to take a pretty long break once it had all wrapped up at the end of 2023.

“I was very tired and stressed […] Making games is a very complex thing and with Alan Wake 2… I really wanted to be hands-on. It’s always teamwork. But I was writing, directing, also co-directing the live action parts. I wanted to be involved in making the music, especially the lyrics. I was acting a part in it, too. There was a lot.

Looking back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m really proud of what we achieved. But I had to do a sabbatical. I went away at the end of the project for half a year. I’m feeling much better now.”

We know that ‘crunch’ is still very much a part of the game making business, even with more eyes on the topic these days, but still – it’s refreshing to see Sam Lake be so candid about his personal toll here. It sounds like the veteran developer is now fully recharged and ready for future Remedy projects though – Lake “still has a lot of passion and ideas” for “a lot of games” that the team has in the works.

Despite all of this, as long-time Xbox followers, it was a relief to see Alan Wake 2 finally come to fruition. We’d been waiting for it ever since the then-Xbox exclusive Alan Wake launched in 2010, and in the end, the sequel surpassed all of our Remedyverse expectations.

What do you make of these comments? Talk to us about crunch and Alan Wake 2 down below.