Alan Wake Remastered brought the cult classic Xbox 360 title to modern audiences back in 2021 - where it also made its PlayStation & Nintendo debuts after previously being an Xbox and PC exclusive. However, developer Remedy didn't bother remastering the game's standalone expansion Alan Wake's American Nightmare, and in a new interview at EGX 2023, the team has explained why.
During said EGX interview, Remedy's Sam Lake was asked about the digital-only nature of the upcoming Alan Wake 2 release, along with why the team opted to leave American Nightmare behind when developing Alan Wake Remastered. Here's Lake's explanation for not remastering the 2012 title:
"I’ll start with American Nightmare. Yeah, we did discuss that when we did the remaster, but the reality of it was that the tech base underneath the hood of American Nightmare is already so different from Alan Wake that it would have been separate back then. So, it didn’t make any business sense at the time."
Lake also responded to those questions about Alan Wake 2 and why the team isn't doing a physical release at launch. Lake says "I hear you" in regards to players wanting a physical version of the game at some stage, however Remedy has "no other plans as of now" for Alan Wake 2.
Speaking of which, the team's long-awaited sequel is right around the corner at this point! Alan Wake 2 launches on Xbox Series X|S, and other current-gen platforms, on October 27th, 2023.