Remedy Entertainment announces that it will start focusing on multiplayer and cooperative gameplay experiences that will retain its focus on storytelling.

Since it created Max Payne in 2001, Remedy Entertainment has worked almost exclusively on single player games. However, that focus on creating single player experiences is shifting with the company's future projects, as it's been announced by game director Mikael Kasurinen and creative director Sam Lake that the studio will be turning its attention from single player to multiplayer.

Even though Remedy Entertainment is going to start making multiplayer and co-op games, that doesn't mean it's going to stop creating single player experiences altogether. Furthermore, Remedy will still have a focus on storytelling, and it believes that it can improve its storytelling capabilities by crafting stories around the idea of player cooperation. These are lofty goals, but Remedy has made a name for itself because of its storytelling capabilities, so there's little reason to doubt that the studio won't be successful in this new venture.

For now, Remedy has two projects in the works. One is developing the single player portion of a game called CrossFire 2, that is primarily being developed by another studio. Remedy's second project is still shrouded in mystery, but now we know that it will feature multiplayer of some kind, and that it won't be a sequel to Alan Wake or Quantum Break, as Remedy is calling it "something completely new."

Some fans may be disappointed in Remedy's new direction, especially since single player-focused Quantum Break sold well, but multiplayer games are an especially lucrative business. There are many multiplayer games that continue to be profitable years after launch due to microtransactions or other forms of DLC content, which could help Remedy stay afloat during its unusually long development cycles.

Perhaps when Remedy wraps up development on its multiplayer game, it can get to work on a proper Alan Wake sequel. Maybe Alan Wake 2 could even have multiplayer features of some kind, which seems likely if Remedy's new multiplayer game is successful. However, it's somewhat hard to imagine how some of the gameplay mechanics in games like Alan Wake and Quantum Break would translate to a multiplayer setting.

Chances are that fans won't have a chance to see Remedy's new multiplayer game for some time. The studio is known for taking five years or more in between major releases, and anything can happen between now and then. Maybe Sam Lake will be struck with some sudden inspiration and decide to change course to create a new Alan Wake, or maybe virtual reality will catch on enough for Remedy to start developing those kinds of games instead. Time will tell, but for now, fans of Remedy's work should expect its next game to primarily be a multiplayer experience.

Remedy Entertainment's multiplayer game is currently in development for unspecified platforms.

Source: Remedy Entertainment