Remedy Entertainment shared updates on all their major titles coming in the near future including Alan Wake 2 and a new mainline Control game. Alan Wake 2 is in full production with many game areas starting to take on a “complete form” according to the studio. However, there’s still a lot of work to be done on the game.
A new mainline Control game is in the concept stage, currently referred to as ‘Codename Heron’. The previously announced spin-off game Codename Condor continues in the proof-of concept stage. Remedy Entertainment aims to develop technology and tools with the Northlight team for future games to come.
Remedy Entertainment CEO Tero Virtala had the following to say about the upcoming slate of games:
In the first quarter of 2022, our revenue grew year-on-year driven by an increase in development fees. Codenames Condor and Vanguard as well as the newly announced Max Payne 1&2 remake -project contributed positively to our top line growth versus the comparison period. In addition, development fees from Alan Wake 2 grew year-on-year. Game royalties consisted mostly of Control sales, which declined year-on-year in line with our expectations. We had no royalty revenue from Alan Wake Remastered during the first quarter as Epic Games Publishing has yet to recoup its development and marketing expenses for the game.
Profitability was at a good level. During the first quarter, we had an increase in external development costs whereas capitalizations remained at a similar level compared to the previous quarter. The game projects are advancing, and we will continue investing in personnel and external development over the upcoming quarters to drive the game projects forward to the next stages of development.
In the first quarter of 2022, the cash flow from operations was exceptionally high. This resulted from the agreement for Vanguard and the development fees from Alan Wake 2. Both of these projects already had a meaningful revenue impact in the last quarter of 2021.
Our partner Smilegate, together with Microsoft, launched CrossfireX on Xbox One and Series X | S in February. A dedicated team at Remedy has continued to support both Crossfire HD and CrossfireX.
Alan Wake 2 is in the full production stage. A lot of work remains, but the game is starting to take a more complete form in many areas. As communicated earlier, Alan Wake 2 will be released in 2023.
Codename Vanguard, a free-to-play co-operative game to be co-published with Tencent, has made good progress since the previous quarter. The project is in the proof-of-concept stage. We have continued to strengthen the team. Vanguard and our other projects have benefitted from our operations in Sweden.
Codename Condor, a spin-off game of Control, continues in the proof-of-concept stage. Codename Heron, a bigger Control game, is in the concept stage and its prototyping continues. Additionally, together with the Northlight-technology team, the focus has been on developing the required technology and tools that will serve a number of Remedy games in the future.
After the reporting period, in the beginning of April, we announced a partnership with Rockstar Games to remake Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne. The public reception to this announcement was overwhelmingly positive. Max Payne clearly has a special place in the hearts of not only Remedians but gamers across the globe. We are very excited to bring the remade game for old and new fans alike.
In February, we announced our aim to transfer from the First North Growth Market Finland marketplace to Nasdaq Helsinki’s official list during the year 2022. The transfer was completed on May 4, 2022, as planned. In our view, a listing on the official list will increase Remedy’s brand awareness, improve the liquidity of shares, and help us to broaden our shareholder base.
Overall, the year 2022 has started off well for us. We are all focused now on executing the projects in the current games pipeline. As we have stated in our long-term business prospects, we expect to have major game launches between 2023 and 2025 that will broaden the revenue streams over the coming years. Recruitment proceeds well and brings us great new talent. Ensuring that teams have the resources and support needed to reach their full potential is of utmost importance to us. Together with our great partners, we are committed to delivering on a pipeline of promising games lined up for years to come.
Lastly, Alan Wake Remastered is coming soon to Switch and an anniversary update video is available here.
