Alan Wake 2 Co-Director Isn’t Worried About Spider-Man 2 & Assassin’s Creed Mirage

Alan Wake 2 is all set for launch in October 2023, a month that’s packed with some solid competitors like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Assassin’s Creed Mirage. In an interview with VGC, co-director Kyle Rowley was asked about the release window to which they replied that they’re proud of their game and want to present it to the players.

Back when the first Alan Wake was released, it went up against Red Dead Redemption. While it was well received by critics and players alike, it wasn’t able to thrive in sales due to the competition. During the initial weeks, Alan Wake managed to sell over 140,000 copies while Red Dead Redemption crossed a million. Of course, the Rockstar label had power but this competition also hindered Alan Wake’s potential to succeed.

You know, we already knew that Assassin’s Creed Mirage was going to be in the fall, we knew that Sony had already said that Spider-Man 2 was going to be in the fall, so we kind of already knew that they would be around us.

After the initial rough patch, however, Alan Wake managed to sell over 3 million units. This was due to word-of-mouth and the quality of the game itself. Kyle Rowley has stated that they’re not concerned about whether people buy Assassin’s Creed Mirage and Spider-Man 2 in place of Alan Wake 2. This statement isn’t solely due to confidence, but also due to logic.

There is always going to be a project launching no matter the release window you choose. The power of an IP’s name, genre, marketing, and quality of the product factor into how the game will perform. Alan Wake 2 has its audience due to the prequel and you can expect players who loved Control to give it a shot as well due to it being the same developer.

We feel that we’re proud of the game that we built, and I think the people who resonate with that kind of game… whether they buy Alan Wake 2 or Spider-Man 2 isn’t really what we’re thinking about. We just want to put forward our game and present it to the players.”

What needs to be taken into consideration is that Alan Wake 2 will not have physical copies. On top of that, it’s exclusive to the Epic Games Store. While it’s releasing on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S as well, players who are solely Steam users and do not have a console may be averse to the idea of getting it, potentially lowering its sales numbers by a bit.

Nevertheless, the sequel is shaping up to be a phenomenal survival horror title, and here’s to hoping it delivers a quality experience to the players.

Alan Wake 2 is preparing for launch on October 17, 2023, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC via Epic Games Store.