Control, Alan Wake Developer Remedy Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

Remedy Entertainment has come a long way from the permanently-scowled face of its first hero, Max Payne. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the studio, which grew out of the demo scene in Finland in 1995. The studio's publisher, Epic Games, put together a short video to celebrate the milestone.

In the video, Remedy's lead staffers briefly reminisce on the studio's founding, as well as the unique qualities shared by all its games. The studio's first effort was 1996's Death Rally, a top-down PC racing game with a focus on smashing cars and arcade action. They're also known for Quantum Break, an early Xbox One game that attempted to cross video games with prestige television. Creative director Sam Lake says that the studio's first hit Max Payne was born out of a desire to tell a "proper story" in an action game. Later, communications director Thomas Puha jokes that the studio's next game will be "bright and happy"--unlike their other work--before conceding that it will likely be just as brooding and melancholic as the noir-tinged Control.

Control recently received its second major piece of DLC, titled AWE, which clearly sets up Alan Wake 2 as Remedy's next game. (The original Alan Wake was a cult phenomenon, but it never sold as well as the studio's other games.) It also solved the game's most enigmatic mystery, albeit in a surprising way. The developer was recently in the news when they announced that players will not receive a free next-gen upgrade for Control unless they purchase its $40 Ultimate Edition, which also includes both of the game's major DLC packs. Epic and Remedy recently announced that the Fortnite developer will publish Remedy's next game, along with new efforts from Limbo developer Playdead and others.