It's not a lake; it's an ocean. Those infamous words became the undying promise of Remedy's Alan Wake 2, a sequel more than a decade in the making, off and on. The cult classic thriller is finally getting its follow-up after years of starting and stopping, all while Remedy continues to grow its profile as a leading story-driven studio. With Alan Wake 2 slated for launch in 2023, here's everything we've seen and everything we know so far. Be sure to also check out our Alan Wake 2 review.

　　

Alan Wake II release date

It's official, Alan Wake II will release on October 17, just in time for the Halloween season. Remedy's new game will be available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Epic Games Store. As part of Remedy's latest earnings briefing in March, the company said that "the game will soon have all content in place, and it is playable from start to finish."

　　A game that has been on the wishlist of fans for years, creative director Sam Lake recently told us that “there was never a time when I felt that it would not happen. It just hadn't happened yet."

　　

Alan Wake II trailers

Since the December 2021 reveal, Remedy hasn't released much footage of the game. The December 2021 trailer, which uses Alan's real-life physical actor, Ilkka Villi, along with his voice actor, Matthew Poretta, provides a haunting setup for a sequel that seems intent to lean further into survival-horror, and the more recent PlayStation Showcase trailer shows off the second playable character, FBI agent Saga Anderson.

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　　Thankfully, there are more than a handful of Alan Wake nerds on the team, so even though we have just the single trailer to go off of for now, we've actually already given it tremendous scrutiny as we scanned for clues regarding what the sequel could have in store for us. You can read our findings here, where we broke down 20 clues you may have missed in the Alan Wake II reveal trailer.

　　

GameSpot's exclusive Alan Wake II coverage coverage

In early summer 2023, we conducted multiple interviews with Remedy, published several theory-crafting articles, and basically dove into Remedy's game like Alan Wake looking for Alice in Cauldron Lake. Out of that deep dive came a ton of coverage you won't find anywhere else on the internet, so check it all out here in our Alan Wake II "cover story" hub.

　　

Who is Saga Anderson?

One of the big surprises revealed in the PlayStation Showcase Alan Wake II trailer was the arrival of Saga Anderson, a new character in the mythos of the series. Actress Melanie Liburd, whose likeness and voice were used to bring Anderson to life, portrays an FBI agent who arrives in the town of Bright Falls and quickly discovers that something sinister is lurking in the dark. Players will switch between Wake and Anderson throughout the sequel, and Lake added that this new character has a pivotal role to play in the story of Alan Wake II.

　　Like Alan, Saga can fight back against the darkness by burning it away with light and using more traditional weapons to take out enemies that were previously cloaked in it. Remedy is using her backstory to flesh out the gameplay, hinting that there will be new investigative elements when players are controlling Saga.

　　

Why is Alan Wake II a digital-only release?

Remedy has multiple reasons for why you won't be able to purchase Alan Wake II on disc. These range from how a large number of people buy digital games exclusively, the availability of consoles without disc drives from both Sony and Microsoft, efforts to keep the cost of Alan Wake II down, and a desire to avoid a large day-one patch for physical media owners. Could this change in the future? Anything can happen, but Remedy said for now, "there are currently no plans to release Alan Wake II on disc."

　　

Alan Wake II preorders

Now that the game has a confirmed release date, Remedy has shared more information on the digital versions that'll be up for sale. You can check out more details in our Alan Wake II preorder hub, but for a quick summary, preorders will earn you a couple of in-game bonuses, including an "ornate revolver skin" usable by Alan and a Survival Resources Pack usable with the game’s other playable character, Saga.

　　It's worth noting that on PlayStation and Xbox, the game will cost $60, but on PC via the Epic Games Store, Alan Wake II will cost $50.