Quantum Break was a fresh idea, having a TV show tied-in with the game looked interesting. But it seems that it wasn’t as successful as Microsoft initial thought.
According to the Quantum Break Creative Director, Sam Lake, he initially pitched in an idea for Alan Wake 2 and that he wanted to do the sequel, but at some circumstances, Microsoft wasn’t interested to do a sequel but something entirely fresh.
Speaking with Venture Beat, Sam told the publication:
“After Alan Wake, we went to them and pitched our thinking at the time about what Alan Wake 2 could be,” Sam told the publication. “At that point they weren’t interested in doing exactly that. They wanted to have something new. Also, they were essentially looking for us to create a new IP for them. Quantum Break is owned by Microsoft, obviously.” he added.
It’s not entirely wrong to try something new, and with Quantum Break it made some enjoyable moments. However, the TV show felt forced and it wasn’t entirely necessary.
Sam did have the idea of having a TV Show tied-in with Alan Wake 2, but since Microsoft didn’t take interest to do the sequel, the company took this idea and integrated it in Quantum Break.
“Part of that pitch for Alan Wake 2, though — I already had a live action show as part of that idea. That part they really liked, and they asked us to retain it in this new thing that was named Quantum at the time and then became Quantum Break. The fact that they were excited about live action and looking into it got the show made.
Because of their interest in live action early on, what they envisioned the show to be and what they wanted it to be was that it would also work as a stand-alone thing, without the game. You could just watch the show and enjoy the show. That was their starting point for it. We had this ongoing debate for a while. They felt it needed a separate set of characters so you didn’t necessarily need to play the game. Even though it would be technically tied and in the same locations, this fictional university town, they wanted it to be its own arc.”
By the looks of it, the Quantum Break TV show didn’t last long as Microsoft hoped for.
Do you think that it would have been a better choice if they pursued Alan Wake 2 instead of Quantum Break?