New Alan Wake won't be a direct sequel or DLC

Good news, Night Springs fans. Remedy today confirmed it is bringing Alan Wake out of early retirement for a new title tentatively scheduled for Fall 2011. But before you begin stockpiling batteries and brushing up on obscure Stephen King references, Remedy has also insisted the next installment in its tortured writer series will not be a direct sequel or DLC, but insteada spin-off designed to attract both Bright Falls veterans and newbies alike.

Yesterday, wily web surfers spotted a reference to Alan Wake 2 on a resume belonging to video game artist Althea Suarez Gata. This lead some of the more astute internet detectives to speculate a new Alan Wake was in the works, that it might possibly be a sequel, and at one point a lady named Althea Suarez Gata had worked on it. It's a stretch, we know.

Choosing to tip its hand rather than play coy, Remedy's head of franchise development, Oskari Häkkinen, issued a response to Joystiq, stating, “Well, now that the cat is out of the bag, we owe it to you and the fans to shed a little more light before we get the chance to officially show them what the guys have been up to...Fans of the franchise will be excited to learn that yes, more Wake is coming! But to be absolutely certain to avoid confusion, this next Wake installment will not be Alan Wake 2. But neither will it be DLC. The rest we're saving for our official announcement when we'll actually SHOW YOU.”

Though he was predictably tight lipped about gameplay details, Häkkinen did reveal the studio was aiming to attract a larger audience, explaining, “It's something that'll definitely give more to the Wake fans out there, but just as importantly, this installment will also give an opportunity for players who aren't familiar with the franchise to finally jump on board.”

Hinting at a possible drop date, he added: “Fall 2011 is probably a good guess."

Our best guess (emphasis on guess)? Remedy is readying an on-the-rails Kinect shooter; something akin to House of the Dead, but with flashlights and random car advertisements. We're also guessing Remedy won'twait long before making an official announcement - possibly at a high profileindustry of some kind. An Electronic Entertainment Expo, if we may be so bold.

[Source:Joystiq]

May 10, 2011