Remedy Entertainment is removing all the product placement on the remastered version of Alan Wake, set to be released in October. As revealed by ScreenRant, all the deals that allowed the original game to display real-world products expired and could not be renewed for the remaster, forcing Remedy to replace them with fictional in-game brands.
While product placement is usually seen as a bad habit, as it makes people who already paid for a product get additional ads, the brands used by the original Alan Wake helped create the realistic atmosphere of the game.
Besides that, Alan Wake: Remaster will have to change models and mechanics to adjust to the expired deals, as some brands were intertwined with the story and gameplay. For example, in the original game, the player used Energizer batteries to charge their flashlight, and several cars were exact copies of Ford vehicles. The overwhelming presence of Verizon billboards also gave particular weight to Alan Wake, bringing the game closer to reality.
Alan Wake was first released as an Xbox 360 exclusive back in 2010, with a PC port released in 2012. Due to the exclusivity contract, Microsoft became the owner of the IP, which prevented Remedy from pursuing a sequel, even though the first game ends with a massive cliffhanger. Remedy reacquired the intellectual rights over the Alan Wake franchise in 2019, but so far, only Alan Wake: Remastered was officially confirmed.
There are rumors Alan Wake 2 is being made, and releasing a Remaster of the first game is an intelligent way to hype the fanbase. Even so, until Remedy shares the news, the future of the franchise remains uncertain.
Alan Wake: Remastered releases on October 5 for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and the Epic Games Store.