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Quantum Break and Max Payne aren’t in Remedy’s Connected Universe, despite the Easter eggsSam Lake clears things up ahead of Alan Wake 2’s launch
Sam Lake clears things up ahead of Alan Wake 2’s launch
Image credit:Epic Games Publishing
Image credit:Epic Games Publishing
Action-horror sequelAlan Wake 2showed up to last night’s Gamescom festivities with a cryptic trailer (below) that showed the studio’s signature Lynchian mystery, an upside-down New York, and some interesting live-action scenes. But references to Remedy’s past games have been the big conversation driver, especially since the studio is building up a“Remedy Connected Universe.”Creative director Sam Lake has now clarified that time-bending shooterQuantum Breakand theMax Paynegames aren’t cool enough to join the Remedy-verse, while also breaking down their approach to these shared-world games.
Alan Wake 2 — The Dark Place Trailer | Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023Watch on YouTube
Alan Wake 2 — The Dark Place Trailer | Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023
“The easy, clear answer is that, out of our past games, Max Payne and Quantum Break are not part of the Remedy Connected Universe. They are not part of Remedy’s plans,” Lake said in an interview withEW- though he does leave the door slightly ajar. “That being said, in a purely speculative, Easter egg kind of way, I do love the idea of enabling our audience to come up with theories. I don’t want to shoot them down on that level,” he added. “We are making questions possible and giving ideas to people that they can then form their own theories. I think that’s very much part of the fun.”
That Remedy-verse began - before we even knew it existed - with the originalAlan Wakein 2010. The studio then made the connections between their games ‘canon’ in their paranormal FBI gameControland itsAWE expansion. But many fans, including me, guessed that Quantum Break would loop into the tangled mystery somehow, since that game was littered with Easter eggs. The first mention of an AWE actually predates the expansion and showed up on a random chalkboard in Quantum Break. Remedy also has a running gag with the number 665, which first began in Max Payne, although Lake does tease that “there is maybe more meaning to be found in [the number’s] use.”
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We’ll see just how connected Remedy’s Connected Universe is on October 27th, when Alan Wake 2 comes out on theEpic Games Storeand consoles. For now, let me know what your theories are. If you even want these games to overlap, that is?
For more of the latest news and previews from Gamescom 2023, head to ourGamescom 2023 hub. You can also findeverything announced at Opening Night Liveright here.
