No PC Version Alan Wake Currently Planned

By Marcus Yam
published

Alan Wake on the PC? No so soon.

Developed first for the PC, Max Payne was the game that started it all with the bullet time fad. After two successful Max Payne games, developer Remedy Entertainment decided to start a new franchise with Alan Wake.

Sadly, Alan Wake's development cycle is taking a lot longer than Max Payne's – curious given that it was one of the first games demonstrated for the Xbox 360.

After all this time, Alan Wake is still headed for the Xbox 360, but it looks like the PC version has been put on the back burner.

Alan Wake fansite Brightfalls received the following response from Remedy Entertainment:

"Thank you for your continued interest in Alan Wake. It is accurate that we are currently working exclusively on the Xbox360 version of Alan Wake. PC plans are currently open, and therefore it’s safe to say that at least a simultaneous launch with the Xbox version will not happen at this late stage. Remedy has a deep heritage in PC gaming and would love to see a PC version available to its PC followers, ultimately however this decision lies with our publisher."

With Remedy's desire to make a PC version, coupled with Microsoft's publishing rights to Alan Wake and the Games for Windows brand, there's still a decent chance of the psychological action thriller to hit the PC – but it could end up being like a Halo or Gears of War type of delay.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
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Software
24 Comments Comment from the forums
  • CircusMusic
    Because PC gamers are such a small market.....
    and most of us PC gamers will pirate the game anyway since it's too difficult to pirate console games....

    /sarcasm
    Reply
  • Hanin33
    CircusMusicBecause PC gamers are such a small market.....and most of us PC gamers will pirate the game anyway since it's too difficult to pirate console games..../sarcasm
    you forgot the YouTube demos and the ease of buying any tools you need from amazon these days... hacking tools are simple enough even for your technically inept...
    Reply
  • stradric
    CircusMusicBecause PC gamers are such a small market.....and most of us PC gamers will pirate the game anyway since it's too difficult to pirate console games..../sarcasm
    I'd guess that it's because this game has had a pretty lukewarm response and rightly so. The game looks like it could go either way. So why should they invest money into a PC game at this point in the dev cycle when it's not even clear the game will be a hot seller to justify the cost? It'd have been much different had they planned the PC launch from the beginning and budgeted for it.

    And console games are definitely more difficult to pirate than PC games. Plus you run the risk of getting your console banned. Plus consoles are cheaper and easier than buying a gaming PC. That be the truth.
    Reply
  • Hanin33
    And console games are definitely more difficult to pirate than PC games. Plus you run the risk of getting your console banned. Plus consoles are cheaper and easier than buying a gaming PC. That be the truth.

    sure if you play on XBL/PSN... but this seems to be a single player game anyway... so that point is moot... most flashing techniques have options to disable the hack to be safe... please, be informed about wot you're talking about and stop spreading FUD...
    Reply
  • valcron
    The real reason consoles don't have more pirates is most console players don't know how to do it. Most I talk to don't even know you can pirate console games. The word is slowly getting out there though. Wonder what these companies will do once console pirates equal/exceed computer pirates. It will happen one day and I have a feeling that day will approach faster than most people think.

    Now before people vote me down no I do not promote pirating but I won't lie and say I don't know how to do it.
    Reply
  • tenor77
    stradricI'd guess that it's because this game has had a pretty lukewarm response and rightly so.
    Actually most people seem excited by this game. Maybe it's just the hype wondering where it's been all these years but AW has always been a source of interest at E3.

    Anyway I'm guessing a late PC launch knowing MS.
    Reply
  • widcard
    And i gather this is another game that won't come out on the PS3 either?
    Reply
  • rockabye
    Even buying tools and crap on amazon to pirate console games, as simple as it may seem, takes considerably more effort than pirating on a pc. Even disregarding the cost of games, I find it to be less hastle than going to the store, standing in line, and searching for game discs whenever I want to play. It's the same difference between looking up cheats and walkthroughs online now, compared to years ago when we had to buy GamePro and EGM magazines.
    Slightly off topic, those gaming magazines provided a certain satisfaction that I just don't get anymore. Maybe I'm just old.
    Reply
  • belardo
    Lets see... Alan Wake was demoed to show the COOL abilities of DX10 when Vista first came out. 2 years later, nothing.

    You guys keep telling YOURSELVES that PC Gaming (WITH AA titles) is strong?! Sure theres thousands of games... web games, trinket games by new game developers. There will ALWAYS be these simple games - and I am not counting those!

    With less and less top end titles... Why and the F(*@$ do we need $200~400 3D Cards if there are NON titles to use them with.

    Microsoft wants US to buy Xbox consoles. They're helping to hurt PC gaming. A few MMORPG games will not support the 3D gaming market. WOW is the #1 PC game, yet theres easily more sales of other games for consoles.

    This will bite MS in the ass someday.
    - With more and more people using the browser to do things, including word processing & spreadsheets... why do we (Home users) need MS-Office?
    - If we don't need MS-Office, we can use any WP program we want, OO, Google, whatever... then why do we need Windows for?
    - If there are few games that require the Windows OS... why have a Windows OS?

    I'm not quite harping "MS dies tomorrow" - but that needing them goes down hill. The only people left are those need to run Photoshop and 3D/CAD Applications and some office productivity work.

    I'll not help MS hurt PC gaming by buying an Xbox360. I'll buy a PS3 - which does support keyboard and mice - first!
    Reply
  • belardo
    Oh yeah...

    Nvidia and ATI should be getting nervous. If there are NO hard-core 3D games to buy and play, then theres NO need for a high-end graphics card.

    Which then means companies like AMD, Intel, PSU and case companies should be nervous. If there is NO need for a high-end gaming card, then there is NO need for high end CPUs, 1000 watt $200 PSUs and fancy gaming cases.

    Windows7 (and Linux of any flavor) will run JUST fine on a $50 dual core CPU with 2GB~4GB of RAM using a 200~300 watt PSU. Meaning, any $300~400 PC is all a person will need.
    Reply