The Finnish game studio Remedy Entertainment has posted a video of in-house development tools that might have also included a teaser from the upcoming Alan Wake 2. The company's presentation on the technologies includes demonstrations on the proprietary Northlight engine and the new USD editor. The tools are used to create Remedy's upcoming games, including Alan Wake 2.
Remedy Entertainment is currently developing five different games for four different publishers. The public already knows about most of these, including the Control-based spin-off Condor, Max Payne remake, Vanguard developed with Tencent, and Alan Wake 2. The company also has another unannounced game with publisher 505 Games in the pipeline.
During the presentation of the Universal Scene Description framework and the company's proprietary game engine and toolkit Northlight, Remedy might have shared a sneak peek into its upcoming Alan Wake game. Remedy Principal Technical Artist, Kristof Minnaert, starts by explaining the company's decision to build its new editor based on the widely adopted USD framework.
While explaining the role of the USD platform and Remedy's Northlight engine, Minnaert goes into showing a screenshot of the editor and perhaps showing a small taste of what is in development for Alan Wake 2. Minnaert goes on to explain the tools available to developers within the software, but gamers' eyes are drawn to the view at the center of the screen. It shows a figure holding a gun in a hall with a staircase leading upstairs.
The filename is NationalLibrary, but it doesn't match the library in Quantum Break. In fact, according to eagle-eyed Reddit users, this doesn't seem to belong to any current game. Instead, it seems to be a close replica of a real library in New York City. The archways, the staircase, and even the chandeliers seem to match pictures of Astor Hall that Reddit sleuth Sir_Galehaut found. Conveniently, Alan Wake 2's story is rumored to continue in New York City, where the Wakes are residents, and New York Public Library as a location would perfectly fit the theme of the game.
Unfortunately, the rest of the 30-minute presentation doesn't give additional clues about Alan Wake 2 or other Remedy games. There is another scene with a staircase and several what seem like Greek goddess Hebe statues, but that doesn't seem to match any specific location. It's also worth noting that Max Payne and Control both are also set in New York City and are part of Remedy's Connected Universe. While Alan Wake 2 might be the likeliest candidate, considering the environment, the screenshot may be from another Remedy game or none at all.
Alan Wake 2 is scheduled to release in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Reddit