Remedy Manager Gets Real About Concord Disaster as Alan Wake 2 Still Struggles With Profits

Alan Wake 2 has been a critical success, praised for its innovative storytelling, visuals, and eerie atmosphere. However, despite the acclaim, the game is still struggling to turn a profit. Remedy Entertainment, the developer behind the game, has faced financial challenges but remains optimistic about its future projects.

What surprises many is that, amid its own financial woes, Remedy’s own community manager, Vida Starčević, has come forward to defend the disastrous launch of Concord. With Remedy’s own profit woes in mind, it’s natural that Starčević’s outspoken defense of a game with an even faster collapse would raise a few eyebrows.

Vida Starčević, Alan Wake 2’s Community Manager, Called Out Concord’s Community

Starčević recently took to social media to reply-on-reply to Daniel Ahmad’s reaction to the game being shut down, mentioning that Concord’s failure was due to the community’s unwillingness to give it a chance and not any missteps in its development, saying:

getting bigots out of your communities is a bandaid and not a permanent solution! modelling desired behaviours and championing the kinds of community members you want to be the majority in your community takes effort & time: start early, practice often, small steps are steps too

— 🌻 Vida Starčević (@vidaisonline) September 4, 2024

Her comments earned her a significant amount of criticism from both players and industry insiders.

Many pointed out that blaming that game’s failure on a few toxic members of the community is only adding fuel to the fire and is just the other side of the coin in terms of grifters claiming the industry is going “woke.”

People also added defending Concord this way, a game that had millions of dollars in funding, eight years of development behind it, unnecessarily convoluted mechanics, and released in a wholly saturated market, feels rather out of touch.

At the same time, it brings to mind how Alan Wake 2’s sales continue to lag, leaving fans to wonder if Starčević’s attention could be better placed on helping Remedy’s own struggles.

According to Remedy’s half-year report, the game only recently broke even, almost a year after its release. The precise reason for this is that the game’s exclusivity to Epic’s storefront, and the lack of a physical edition were major factors in its poor sales.

But there’s another layer to this that cannot be ignored; some gamers have distanced themselves from Remedy’s title due to its connections with Sweet Baby Inc., a consultancy group involved with its narrative.

Then again, let’s not ready our tinfoil hats for now, as whether that is indeed one of the reasons behind the game’s low sales is a discussion for another day.

Despite All the Controversies, Alan Wake 2 Deserves a Lot More Success, and Sales

Regardless of all these discussions and issues, there’s really no denying that this is a video game that deserves way more recognition for its creativity and ambition.

After all, Remedy has a history of pushing boundaries, from its newest title to the first Max Payne. The former already offers a unique blend of narrative depth and atmospheric horror that sets it apart from other games in the current market.

Considering that, one can only hope that the lack of mainstream sales does not dissuade fans or deter Remedy from continuing to pursue its passion projects.

If anything, the failure of games like Concord shows the dangers of chasing industry trends with less focus on what makes a game special. Remedy’s path should continue to be one of innovation rather than bucking down and following today’s increasingly frustrating game design trends.

Despite the industry’s current struggles, people hold on to the hope that Alan Wake 2 will, one day, find its much-deserved size of audience, even if it takes more time.

With that said, what are your thoughts on Vida Starčević’s comments? Did you avoid Alan Wake 2 because of its involvement with Sweet Baby Inc.? Let us know in the comments below!