Remedy has recently stated the reason for its decision to make Alan Wake 2 digital only.
Last month, it was revealed that Alan Wake 2 will only have a digital release when it launches on October 17, 2023 with no plans for a physical release on disc at the time. The company did not explain further their reason for the decision which many fans found weird. This has sparked some debates in the community talking about game preservation and among other things. A new report has now given a little light on that.
Alan Wake 2 Can Get More Polish
Alan Wake 2 Creative Director Sam Lake and Game Director Kyle Rowley shared more details with Eurogamer about the reasoning behind the digital-only decision. According to them, it is actually to allow Remedy more time to polish the game to a level where fans would accept it. Publisher Epic Games also agreed with their decision on this.
“Yeah, it is digital only, and kind of coming to this idea, both from Remedy and Epic’s perspective, that’s our current thinking. It just felt it makes sense for this, and the timing felt right,” Lake explained before Rowley gave a little more detail.
“As creatives obviously, by going digital-only it does allow us more time to polish the game,” Rowley said. “Like, a significant amount of weeks actually. Because otherwise, the game that goes on the disc, obviously it has to be playable without a patch.”
“We didn’t want to release something that we weren’t proud of basically, and that we didn’t want players to play. So hopefully this way we can give you a better version of the game.”
FAQ Says Keeping it Cheaper
The FAQ however, has a different explanation for the digital-only decision. It stated that it was to keep the price of the game down. They wanted to keep the price at $59.99 and the PC version at $49.99. Rowley also shared an explanation that helps with the explanation from the FAQ.
“Finally, we did not want to ship a disc product and have it require a download for the game – we do not think this would make for a great experience either.”
Giving Players Options
It has always been a big debate whether games should now move on to being fully digital or still have physical discs for gaming preservation. Both sides have their ups and downs, but it should always be about giving options to players and not limiting them to only a few.
Alan Wake 2 launches on October 17, 2023 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.