Remedy’s new CEO says Alan Wake and Control ‘should have sold more’ – and movie/TV deal will ‘help us do that’

Remedy’s new CEO has said that Alan Wake and Control games should have sold more, and that a television and movie deal could help them reach a broader audience.

Former Electronic Arts executive Jean-Charles Gaudechon was appointed as the Finnish studio’s new CEO earlier this year, having previously worked on the Battlefield and FIFA series.

Speaking to The Game Business, Gaudechon said he wants Remedy to continue making the kinds of games it’s always made, but look at ways it can turn those critical hits into commercial ones.

“Remedy is already one of the biggest game authors, with very strong signature products,” he said. “Now after seeing it from the inside, there’s so much more we can give in terms of super strong authored, creative, crazy stories and gameplay. Honestly, we haven’t achieved half of the potential in terms of the products that we make.”

He added: “But as franchises Control, Alan Wake, etcetera, could give a lot more. There’s a vision on thinking bigger for some of these IPs, which need to find its audience much, much further than the current audience. It’s super exciting.”

Part of this strategy is a deal signed before Gaudechon’s appointment, which could see Annapurna produce Control and Alan Wake TV shows and movies. The exec told TGB that he sees this as one way of turning Remedy’s IP into broader franchises.

“We need to think more about how we are approaching our IPs as a franchise,” he said. “How do we grow the community?

“[Our deal with] Annapurna goes into making our games, our franchises shine further and reach an audience that doesn’t exist today. It’s a pity, I think Alan Wake should have sold more. Control should have sold more.

“To me, that’s one of the first things we need to fix, even before trying to make more games to a certain extent. First of all, maximize the potential of the ones we have, because they’re incredible. And cross-media is going to help us do that.”

Remedy’s next game, the action sequel Control Resonant, will release for consoles and PC sometime this year.

“Control Resonant hangs on whether or not players will take to Dylan as a protagonist in the same way they did to Jesse in the first game,” we wrote in our preview last year.