Remedy Entertainment just released their financial results for Q3, and while things are looking slightly better for the Finnish studio compared to last year, but don’t be fooled however because this doesn’t mean they’re clawing back any real profit from their latest title because they aren’t.

In their financial report, Remedy revealed a revenue spike of 128.6% over the same period last year. Between July and September, they pulled in €17.9 million, with an operating profit of €2.4 million, a notable improvement from the €5.5 million loss they took in Q3 2023.

The real story here is Alan Wake 2’s performance, and it’s not exactly a happy ending. Despite all the hype, awards, and praise it received for categories like Best Art Direction and Narrative at last year’s ESG game award ceremony, the so-called “narrative-driven masterpiece” turned out to be a commercial flop.

A year after its release, Remedy admits the game is still unprofitable, with no significant improvements in sight.

The game was developed with Sweet Baby Inc., a company known for infusing “woke” agendas into gaming narratives. Co-founder Kim Belair has controversially urged employees to pressure their own marketing teams to push progressive changes in projects.

Sweet Baby Inc. has a track record of pushing “inclusive” narratives that flop financially, and Alan Wake 2 only follows that trend, featuring racial-swapping and other diversity-focused elements to meet modern inclusivity demands. But no amount of industry praise can seem to pull it out of the red.

Instead of feeling like a true follow-up to the 2010 classic, Alan Wake 2 feels like it’s split into two, with half the time spent playing as a new character, Saga Anderson, a Swedish woman.

This addition might not seem horrible on its own, but the backstory around her character’s design raises eyebrows. Following consultation with Sweet Baby Inc., led by Kim Belair, a mixed race woman living in Canada who advises game studios on “authentic” representation of Africans and their culture, Anderson was reimagined as a Black character, despite being initially depicted as White in Remedy’s Quantum Break in an Easter egg.

This abrupt change, while maintaining her Swedish identity, feels like a token nod to diversity rather than organic storytelling.

Beyond character design, other decisions further compromised Alan Wake 2’s commercial potential. Remedy’s deal with Epic Games for storefront exclusivity, coupled with a digital-only release, effectively limited its reach. With no physical copies being produced, Remedy may have effectively undercut their chances of recouping their investment, proving that industry praise and progressive tweaks don’t translate to market success.

PC gamers have a deep-seated hatred for the Epic Games Store, not just because it’s seen as an inferior alternative to Steam but also due to the aggressive, underhanded tactics led by Epic CEO Tim Sweeney.

Epic has repeatedly “incentivized” developers by offering substantial payouts for exclusive distribution rights, locking major titles like Final Fantasy VII Remake, Borderlands 3, and Metro Exodus (which was famously pulled from Steam right before launch) into exclusivity deals ranging from six months to a year.

This practice, intended to force gamers to adopt Epic’s platform, has only fueled resentment.

Alan Wake 2 might have released to a wave of critical acclaim, but only by gaming journalists who merely serve as PR arms for game studios, pushing political agendas onto players while conveniently branding any dissent as “racism” or ignoring it entirely.

These journalists don’t just review games, they enforcing a narrative that promotes ideological themes.

We’ve seen this trend before. Take Assassin’s Creed Shadows, for example, where Ubisoft pushes historical revisionism by casting Yasuke, a minor historical Black figure, as a central samurai warrior in 1600s Japan, a choice that journalists were all too eager to defend, no questions asked.

Or Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which ditches the immersive fantasy of magic and dragons to make room for “heartfelt” moments of modern identity politics, complete with scenes of non-binary characters coming out to their families.

These examples show how gaming “journalism” increasingly sacrifices authenticity in storytelling to promote a social agenda, blurring the line between genuine critique and outright activism because only “problematic” games are ever bastardized by the media while games pushing modern day political themes are praised and applauded.

Journalists are still hyping up Alan Wake 2, even though it’s been a financial drain for Remedy. The game hit a 50% discount shortly after launch and still hasn’t made it to the Steam store, managing to sell around 1.3 million copies as of February 2024.

Yet despite an entire year passing without the game turning a profit, media outlets continue to label it a “success” for Remedy, twisting the narrative to fit their glowing reviews or more rather, how “woke” games never truly fail.

Remedy claims Alan Wake 2 has recouped “most of its development and marketing expenses,” but they haven’t shared any exact numbers or percentages.

Regardless of this lukewarm outcome, the studio is pushing forward on its next “woke” title: Control 2, a sequel to their 2019 game. Full production is expected to start in 2025, with the project currently in a “production readiness stage.” Remedy reports that many “critical features” are already in place, and they’re testing “workflows and pipelines” to prepare for full-scale development.

The upcoming Max Payne remakes are reportedly “making steady progress,” with Remedy announcing that the projects are “gradually reaching important milestones” in development. Given the legendary status of the original Max Payne games, titles that put Remedy on the map, there’s understandable skepticism about how these remakes will hold up under the modern progressive design philosophy.

For context, the original Max Payne sold 82,000 copies in its first month and over 400,000 by the end of 2001, a tremendous success that led to the creation of a sequel. But two decades later, Alan Wake 2, with 1.3 million copies sold, still hasn’t turned a profit, highlighting just how much modern game budgets have spiraled, even for a small Finnish studio like Remedy.

With a reported budget of around €70 million for development and marketing, Alan Wake 2 stands as one of Finland’s biggest cultural exports. Yet despite this, it still trails behind the original Alan Wake, which had reached 1.4 million sales after its first year.

Remedy forecasts improved revenue and operating profit for the remainder of 2024, largely based on projects like Control 2 and FBC: Firebreak, a newly announced Control multiplayer spinoff reusing old assets is slated for release next year. However, whether these titles can deliver genuine profitability remains doubtful in my eyes.