Alan Wake PC Cancelled; X360 More Compelling

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Another snub for the PC.

Remedy Entertainment, the developers behind the superlative first two Max Payne games, has been working on Alan Wake for at least the last five years. The release is almost upon us, with a date set for the Xbox 360 version this May.

Sadly, there will never be a release date for the once-hoped PC version as Microsoft has confirmed that it's been cancelled.

A Microsoft spokesperson said to Strategy Informer:

Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive. Both Microsoft and Remedy have long histories in PC game development. This decision was about matching this specific game to the right platform.

While we respect the artistic vision of the skilled folk at Remedy, we can't help but feel that those with gaming-capable HTPC setups linked to HDTVs (with nearby couches) are feeling a little left out.

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.
82 Comments Comment from the forums
  • el33t
    Hmmm.... quite surprising though. But as a 360 owner, I'm happy! ;)
    Reply
  • metalfellow
    I can't help but think their reason: "We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the XBox 360 platform"
    ...means something like "we are worried that the game will be less than expected and releasing it on the PC would result in more piracy than the XBox."

    It is probably that the hardware scene in the PC world has drastically changed since development started while the Xbox is largely unchanged and that may of prompted various issues of compatibility or performance.

    There have been 2 versions of Windows since the development started....
    Reply
  • crinzema
    Well, i guess there's one more game I won't be interested in anymore.
    Reply
  • Thesmj
    Didn't this get announced months ago?
    Reply
  • m-manla
    Man another game cancelled on PC. To me though, I want to build a HTPC that will have a good GPU for gaming. I rather play on a big TV (with controllers) rather than at my computer desk.
    Reply
  • weedface
    couldn't care less, this game was one i was not interested in
    Reply
  • ravewulf
    How hard is it to make a PC version when there is already an Xbox version? Xbox 360 is based off of DX9 after all...
    Reply
  • Sicundercover
    Meh I was excited about this game 4 years ago but I had assumed this game was canceled a year ago. This was one of the early announces for DX10 and that has come and gone.

    Reply
  • fpsdominator
    Well, I thought this game looked as boring as hell anyway. so whatever
    Reply
  • kschewe
    speak for yourself MS. I use a 40" lcd for my monitor for gaming pc 1080p
    Reply