In mid-November, Remedy revealed its plans to reboot Vanguard, a premium free-to-play multiplayer game that has been in the works since 2018. With Tencent co-financing the development, it wasn't as quick and simple as an internal matter, but things look to have been resolved with the solution announced in a recent press release (archived).
In the press release posted last week, Remedy stated that they have signed a contract amendment with Tencent for Kestrel. As a result, Remedy “recognises an impairment charge of EUR 7.2 million for Q4 and fiscal year 2023 results, comprising the total capitalized development costs for codename Vanguard. This does not impact Remedy's cash position. As a result of the write-off, Remedy's result for Q4 and fiscal year 2023 will be lower than expected.”
On the new change in direction, Tero Virtala, Remedy's CEO commented, “We made meaningful investments in 2023 and created a stronger basis for profitable long-term growth. After the restart, Kestrel is better aligned with our core strengths and creative vision of the Remedy Connected Universe”. He adds, “The contract negotiations regarding a publishing agreement are another determined step towards our long-term objectives in accordance with our strategy.”
As a result of the changes, Remedy has rescheduled its Financial Statements Bulletin 2023 to Wednesday, March 20th 2024.
Source: Remedy Entertainment Investors (archived)
As Vanguard/Kestrel is one of those projects newer fans may not be familiar with, we wanted to break down what we know at this point...
The Vanguard Story. The project had originally been designed with a new structure to encourage a vibrant team that could “act with a startup mentality” and create new types of “ongoing live multiplayer game experiences”. While little is known about the old project, it did get its own section on Remedy's website, where it revealed that its “aim is to make groundbreaking video games that uphold the Remedy Entertainment name. This is a unique opportunity for you to come in, and create and establish a new kind of Remedy experience.” While things were pretty quiet on the publicity side of things, snippets did get revealed on its progress as part of the studio's financial reports.
Tencent Enters. In December 2021, things started to look up with Tencent partnering up for the adventure. The agreement would see the development costs co-financed by both companies, with Remedy then taking control of the publishing (with the exception of Asian markets, which would be handled by Tencent). In the press release announcing the collaboration, Remedy's CEO stated, “Vanguard marks Remedy’s first entry into Games-as-a-Service business model, executed by our top tier team of free-to-play experts. We are building something new and exciting for co-operative multiplayer space, on top of Remedy’s strengths. Expanding our capabilities to take on publishing responsibilities is the next step in the development of our company. We are excited for this long-term partnership with Tencent and, with confidence, can say that it is an excellent fit in supporting Vanguard’s ambitious plans. “
Change to Kestrel. Two years later, in mid-November 2023, Remedy and Tencent revealed that the project was being rebooted. Returning to the concept phase, the project would now be a premium game with a strong cooperative multiplayer component, leaning on Remedy's strengths.
