If you're going to start a holiday, it's almost guaranteed that there will be Remedy news that day. A little while ago, Remedy published its Annual Report 2022 covering all areas of the company throughout the twelve months, including project updates and interviews with key staff.
In the report, the studio also outlines its long-term strategic objectives by 2025, how they are progressing, and how they plan to achieve them. They also explore the trend and environment of the game industry and players, along with commercial models. The report ends with a look into the financials, sustainability, and how it gives back to its developers.
You can read the full report, HERE!
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Interviews and Statements with...
- Tero Virtala (CEO at Remedy) on the present and future of Remedy
- Neil Ralley (President at 505Games) on Control and their partnership
- Jon Story (Director of GeForce Developer Technologies) on collaboration
- Vida Starčević (Senior Community Manager at Remedy) on community atmosphere
- James Salt (Game Director at Remedy) on working on Max Payne 1&2 remake
- Maiju Härkönen (Character Artist at Remedy) on creating memorable characters
- Markus Lappalainen (Principle Environment Artist) on choosing Remedy
- Kaisa Lehmusoka, Liisa Kauppinen, Milla Hirschovits, and Satu Walden ("Office Team") on ensuring the company runs smoothly
- Molly Maloney (Senior Narrative Designer) on moving to Finland and narrative design
- Epic Stirpe (Lead Writer) on the day in the life of a writer.
Remedy in 2022
- Formed of 334 developers from 34 countries
- An additional 32 people work for the company but are not employed by Remedy, bringing the total up to 366 overall
- The average age at the studio is 35.7
- Flexibility in work setups, allowing for hybrid work for staff
- Revenue for 2022 was €43.6M (€39.1M development fees & €4.5M royalties)
- The studio opened its Sweden-based studio in Stockholm
- Remedy Stockholm will move into their permanent residence in Spring 2023.
Partnerships & Launches
- Remedy signed a partnership deal with Rockstar Games for the Max Payne 1&2 remake
- The studio signed a co-development and co-publishing agreement with 505Games for Control 2
- Alan Wake Remastered was released on Nintendo Switch in the autumn
- The studio transferred its shares from First North Growth Market Finland to Nasdaq Helsinki.
- Current business models include "partner IP projects, own IP projects with a publishing partner, and co-publishing projects. In the future, Remedy also have the possibility to self-publish games"
Board of Directions: Markus Mäki, Christian Fredrikson, Jussi Laakkonen, Kaisa Salakka, Sonja Ängeslevä, and Henri Österlund.
Core Management Team: Tero Virtala (CEO), Markus Mäki (CPO & CTO), Sami Järvi (Creative Director), Terhi Kauppi (CFO), Mikaela Öberg-Mattila (CPO), Johannes Paloheimo (CCO), and Christopher Schmitz (COO).
Stage-Gate Process Notes
- Six developmental stages are applied to each Remedy-owned game project. (Possible exception to service-based games e.g. Condor and Vanguard (codenames).
- The life stage of a game is expected to be between 1-2 years with 1-3 DLC packs.
- Mandate
Mandate marks the start of a game project in which goals and vision for the title are outlined, along with a proposed budget, timeline and resources. The team is kept small and only includes studio management and an executive producer. This process can take a few days to a few weeks. - High Concept
High Concept involves backing up the vision with the practicality of gameplay, with discussions of how feasible the game would be to develop. At this stage, the team size grows to 3-10 developers who work for 1-3 months. - Concept
After High Concept, the project movies into Concept where a more detailed description of the key characters, theme, and narrative are decided upon. This stage is also where partnerships are discussed. The team size multiplies to between 20-30 developers who work on the concept for 3-6 months. - Proof Of Concept
Once a concept has been reached, the team expands again to between 30-50 people for Proof of Concept. This can take another 3-6 months as they produce a piece that is close to the final quality. - Production Readiness
The project is beginning to reach the full production stage with 50-70 developers working on it for another 3-6 months. During this period, the team has been set up with a production plan in place. - Full Production
Once in Full Production, between 100-200 developers could be working on the title. In the report, they estimate that it can take "1-2 years to Alpha stage with full game ready, followed by Beta stage taking between 3-6 months for clearing bugs and quality assurance."
The Control Franchise...
- Player Numbers. By the end of 2022, Control has been played by 16.5 million players worldwide. 3.6 million copies of the game have been sold.
- Continuation. The reception of the game has led the studios to continue their work with the franchise. In June 2021, Remedy and 505 Games announced a PvE (player vs. environment) spin-off, currently codenamed Condor. There is also work on Control 2 (previously referred to as "Heron" until November 2022.
- Sequel Budget. Control 2's development budget is estimated to cost €50M.
- IP Ownership. Remedy will retain ownership of the Control IP, with development, marketing, post-launch investments, and net revenues generated split equally with 505 Games.
- Expected Platforms. Control 2 will be available on PC (published by Remedy), as well as PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S (published by 505 Games).
- Engine. The sequel will be published using Remedy's in-house engine, Northlight.
- Synopsis. "After the Hiss Invasion, the Oldest House is under lockdown: a boiling pot of volatile and dangerous supernatural forces. Trapped within is the last vestige of the Federal Bureau of Control who will need to take a stand and push back to regain control. Desperate times require desperate measures. And everyone’s needed."
- Premise. "With codename Condor, we invite players on a collective journey into the depths of the Oldest House. Within, they’ll face overwhelming enemies and obstacles, but by relying on their gear and each other, they will have a chance for survival."
- Playstyle. Condor will have four-player cooperative player-vs-environment gameplay.
- Engine. Set to be built using Northlight technology.
- Expected Platforms. Due to be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
- Spin-off Budget. The budget is currently set at €25M, half of the amount allocated to Control 2.
- Costs. Development, marketing, and future net revenues will be equally split between Remedy and 505 Games.
- Stage. Condor was in the proof-of-concept stage at the end of 2022.
The Alan Wake Franchise
- Remastered Expansion. Alan Wake Remastered launched on Nintendo Switch in October 2022, a year after its release on PC (Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4/Pro, Xbox One, and Xbox X|S. The move introduces new audiences to the world of Bright Falls.
Alan Wake 2
- IP Ownership. Remedy will retain full IP ownership
- Survival Horror. Embracing the survival horror genre for the sequel allows the studio to create "an even more intense mood and atmosphere"
- Costs. Epic Games Publishing is fully funding the game's development and marketing costs
- Net Revenue. Remedy will receive a 50% share of the net revenue from game sales after development and marketing costs have been recouped
- Plans. The game is expected to launch in 2023 and be published by Epic Games on PC (Epic Games Store), PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.
The Max Payne Franchise...
- Deal. Remedy is remaking Max Payne 1&2 following a development agreement with Rockstar Games in April 2022
- Pack. The games will be released as a single title for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
- Engine. The project is being developed with Northlight.
- Budget. The game's development budget is financed by Rockstar Games.
- Royalty. Remedy will receive royalty opportunities after development, marketing, and publishing costs have been recouped.
- Stage. At the end of 2022, the game was in the concept development stage.
The "Vanguard" (Codename) Project...
- Ownership. Original Remedy IP.
- Gameplay. Free-to-play third-person player-verses-environment multiplayer shooter.
- Game Type. Studio's first live service-based game.
- Platforms. Vanguard is being developed for PC and console platforms (specifics are not given in the report) on the Unreal Engine.
- Publishing Deal. Remedy will develop and publish the game worldwide excluding selected Asian markets where their publishing partner, Tencent, will localize and publish it.
- Mobile. As part of the agreement signed with Tencent, the publishers have been licensed to worldwide rights to develop and publish a mobile version of the game.
- Stage. In August 2022, Vanguard remained in the proof-of-concept phase for longer to enable the team to continue to test key elements and designs.
