Alan Wake Remastered release date, trailer, upgrades, game pass, and DLC
It’s time to return to Bright Falls.
After a long hiatus, Alan Wake has returned. In Remedy Entertainment’s acclaimed 2010 Xbox 360 psychological thriller, the eponymous writer ventures to the mysterious mountain town of Bright Falls in search of some much-needed artistic inspiration. Despite strong reviews, the game had the misfortune of debuting the same week as Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption, which meant it took some time for the game to discover its audience.
It’s not the only glimpse we’ve had of Wake lately, though. Control, one of 2019’s most lauded games, takes place in the same universe and makes numerous references to the character. The game’s 2020 DLC, known as AWE, makes those connections all the more explicit.
On September 7, Remedy announced the original Alan Wake will be coming to new-gen platforms as Alan Wake Remastered. It’ll bring a suite of improvements to the original adventure.
Here’s everything we know about Alan Wake Remastered.
When is the Alan Wake Remastered release date?
Officially, Alan Wake Remastered only has a “Fall 2021” release window. According to a leak, Alan Wake Remastered will be available on October 5, 2021. This date has yet to be officially confirmed.
Which platforms will Alan Wake Remastered come to?
Despite once being an Xbox exclusive, Alan Wake has evolved.
You’ll be able to enjoy Alan Wake Remastered on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
Is there an Alan Wake Remastered trailer?
Sadly, no. There isn’t an Alan Wake Remastered trailer yet. You’ll just have to nosh on this teaser image while you wait.
The spruced-up Alan Wake Remastered logo.
It’s just the classic Alan Wake logo, but things have been spruced up a bit, likely to reflect the game’s higher resolution.
What’s included in Alan Wake Remastered?
Alan Wake Remastered includes:
- The original Alan Wake game
- The two expansions stories – The Signal and The Writer
- New commentary from director Sam Lake.
Is Alan Wake's American Nightmare in Alan Wake Remastered?
In addition to the original Alan Wake game, there was a short follow-up title called Alan Wake’s American Nightmare released in 2012.
Remedy Entertainment confirmed to Inverse over email that Alan Wake's American Nightmare would not be included in Alan Wake Remastered.
“Alan Wake's American Nightmare was a digital-only release, a slightly more arcade-y follow-up to Alan Wake in 2012. That is a separate standalone game and not part of the remaster experience,” said Thomas Puha, Remedy Entertainment Communications Director.
Alan Wake and his flashlight.
What are the Alan Wake Remastered improvements?
The game has received a visual overhaul. You can now play Alan Wake entirely in 4K resolution. When announcing the game, Sam Lake mentioned there would be some “choice next-generation upgrades” included. It’s unknown if this refers to the already announced visual improvements or something more specific like haptics found on the Dualsense.
A report by NintendoPal suggested that ray-tracing will be available exclusively on PS5 and Xbox X|S versions. They also mentioned that the game will be entirely in 60FPS and run on the Northlight Engine, which was previously used in Control. If these alterations are in the game, Alan Wake Remastered should run far smoother than its predecessor.
Will Alan Wake Remastered be on Xbox Game Pass?
Although the original Alan Wake had a legendary year-long run on Game Pass, there’s no indication the remastered version will appear on the service.
Given the announcement’s proximity to PlayStation’s September 9 livestream event, some fans on Reddit suspect that Alan Wake Remastered will be available on PlayStation Plus at launch. This is partly because the leaked October 5 release date is the first Tuesday of the month, the same day Sony updates their PlayStation Plus titles.
Why is Alan Wake getting a remaster?
Alan Wake took place in a small town where characters had disjointed speech patterns, similar to Twin Peaks. It further invited that comparison by pacing the game similar to a TV show, providing cliffhangers and twists.
Interest in Alan Wake increased when Control, Remedy’s biggest franchise since Max Payne, drew undeniable connections to the series. Alan Wake Remastered may be a way to set up more stories about the grumpy author.
Lake also sees Alan Wake Remastered as a reward for everyone that stuck with Alan Wake over the last decade.
“The remaster is coming because of your support for Alan Wake through the years,” Lake wrote in the September 7 blog post.
