If you’ve been eager to see a multiplayer game set in the Remedyverse on PS5 and Xbox, then I have bad news for you. According to a fresh announcement from the studio behind smash-hit Alan Wake 2, its upcoming game Project Kestrel has been canceled as Remedy Entertainment “refocuses on existing franchises” like Control and Max Payne.
Though the news may be disappointing to some, Project Kestrel was, fortunately, only in the “early concept stage,” so the losses for Remedy (and co-financier Tencent) will be minimal. Kestrel was set to launch as a “premium cooperative multiplayer game” – a reboot of the previously-axed, free-to-play Project Vanguard that started back up in November last year.
More importantly, the “small team” of devs that had been at the helm of Project Kestrel will, thankfully, be reallocated to “other ongoing game development projects,” such as the upcoming Max Payne 1&2 remakes as well as Control 2, and Project Condor – Remedy’s other new multiplayer game that’s set within the Control universe. Remedy’s most recent business review, published at the end of April, reveals that the Max Payne remakes are “expected to move into full production” very soon, while Control 2 is expected to “advance to the production readiness stage.”
Considering the increasingly competitive live-service environment we currently find ourselves in, alongside the fact one of the best games of 2023 in Alan Wake 2 still hasn’t broken even, it’s unsurprising to see Remedy temper its co-op game aspirations with its latest update. Though the studio’s revenue is on the up, getting caught up in a potentially costly development cycle is the last thing it needs – even with Tencent’s backing.
Last year, Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Online met a similar fate and, considering the pedigree both devs have in the single-player space, I’m glad that Remedy’s not getting ahead of itself after its latest critical success. Remedy did work on the ill-fated CrossfireX – yet another live-service disaster that closed up shop last May – though it had only lent itself to the game’s campaign elements.
While Kestrel has been plucked from Remedy’s lineup, the Control multiplayer spin-off Project Condor has at least survived for now. Plus, there are other ways to enjoy the studio’s hottest properties in live-service form. Alan Wake, for example, can be found hitting the griddy in Fortnite, or running for his life in Dead By Daylight. As the studio turns inward to its hard-hitting single-player experiences, I wouldn’t be shocked if the likes of Max Payne and Jesse Faden eventually received their own crossovers when they’re reintroduced to our consoles.
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