2nd May 2024 Remedy Entertainment Business Review Q1 2024 [& Notes]

It's only been a month since Remedy's full 2023 wrap-up went live, but we're back again, this time with their newly published Q1 2024 Business Review.

In this post, we'll examine the latest internal news and see what's next for the studio. As we had a report not too long ago, and only three months passed in the reporting period, there are only a few additions this time around, but they're still exciting updates!

If you're interested in the numbers, I recommend checking out the reports directly to ensure that you're getting the most accurate data. In our roundups, we look primarily at the company's changes, the projects it's working on, and the challenges and achievements it had in the reported time.

As always, the original report was posted on the Remedy Investors website and emailed to subscribers on April 29th. In the morning, Tero Virtala (CEO), Terhi Kauppi (CFO), and Liisa Eloranta (Senior Investor Relations Specialist at Remedy) participated in a livestream to discuss the financial results from 2023 and answer shareholders' questions. You can watch the full broadcast HERE.

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Highlights (Q1 2024)

Revenue. Revenue increased by 56.2% to €10.8 (6.9) million.

Reclaiming the Control IP. In February, Remedy announced that it had purchased the full rights to the Control franchise from 505 Games for €17m, with payment spread throughout the next two years. The first three instalments, totalling €3.8m, have already been made, with additional payments to follow in the latter half of 2024 and 2025. The impacted games included Control, "Condor," Control 2, and any future projects in the franchise. At present, the company is looking into self-publishing and potential publishing partners.

Alan Wake 2 Sales. At the start of February, Remedy had sold 1.3 million units of Alan Wake 2 and had already recouped a "significant part" of the development and marketing expenses.  

Production Cheat Sheet:

Condor. Condor is a cooperative, player-verses-environment spin-off game set in the world of Control.

Kestral. Originally codenamed Vanguard, the project received significant changes between the report originally being posted and now with it returning to the concept stage. While still published by Tencent, Remedy described the new project in the press release as being "a premium title, with a cooperative multiplayer element."

Internal Developments

Max Payne 1&2 Remake. In Q3 2023, the project progressed into the production readiness stage, and is expected to move into full production in the next three months (Q2 2024).

Alan Wake 2. With 1.3 million units sold, the game has already recouped a significant part of its development costs. Work continues on the Alan Wake 2 DLC packs, which will build on the experience. Remedy is still collecting revenue for Alan Wake Remastered, with interest kindled by the sequel's recent launch. In the Q1 2024 livestream, Virtala stated that there was no news about the Steam version at present.

Condor. In Q3 2023, Condor (Codename) progressed from the proof-of-concept stage to production readiness. It has now moved into full production, with internal playtests providing positive results that "bring a unique Remedy angle to the genre."

Control 2. Previously referred to internally as "Heron". The game continues to be in the proof-of-concept stage, although good progress has been made in the designs and game build. In Q4 2024, the team worked on world-building and combat. The studio is expected to move into production readiness during Q2 2024.

Kestral. In mid-November 2023, Remedy revealed a reboot for the project. It currently remains in the concept stage.

State of the Studio

Control IP. In February 2024, Remedy acquired full rights to the Control franchise from 505Games.

Board Members. Markus Mäki, Kaisa Salakka, Sonja Ängeslevä, Henri Österlund and Kai Tavakka were elected to the Board of Directors. 

Core Management Changes. Markus Mäki became the Chief Product Officer, and Mika Vehkala was appointed Chief Technology Officer. In April, after the reporting time, it was announced that Christopher Schmitz, the Chief Operations Officer, would step down on May 31st, 2024. In the same press release, the studio announced that Mikael Kasurinen had been appointed as a Creative Director, working alongside Sam Lake. 

Tencent. Close to but just outside of the reporting period, Tencent's shares of the company increased above 10% on April 24th 2024.

Recap / 2021-2025 Studio Goals

While the previous few years have been dedicated to strengthening its position as a multi-project developer, the Board has established the key stepping stones that would define success internally going ahead. These goals include:

• To create several successful games, with the goal of at least one major hit.
  
  
• To own at least three expanding game brands with "long-term hit potential".
  
  
• Strengthening the studio's position to select the ideal distribution for each project (e.g. self-financing, self-publishing, and working with partners).
  
  
• Strengthening Remedy's status and value within Europe.
  
  
• Maintaining a profitable and growing studio with "well-managed risks".

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2nd May 2024 Rewatch Today's Alan Wake 2 Live-Action Dev Stream w. Vida Starčević, Anssi Määttä, and Mikko Riikonen

Ready to dive into the weird world of video game live-action? Remedy has just wrapped up their Alan Wake 2 dev stream, and it's looking at exactly that! If you missed it, though, the entire broadcast is already available right now on Twitch and YouTube.

Once again, Vida Starčević hosted the two-hour livestream, which featured special guests Anssi Määttä (Live Action & Cinematics Director) and Mikko Riikonen (Principal Cinematographer) in an in-depth discussion about the challenges of creating those incredible live-action shots that left us in awe. 

Throughout the talk, the duo tackled questions dealt by Vida, from creating the reality-shifting vortex to mixing live-action and game, and creating the memorable self-made Koskela adverts. We were also treated to new behind-the-scenes photographs and footage from Room 665 and Yötön Yö. As before, the community was also able to ask questions in the latter part of the livestream.

The above video has been embedded with Twitch and YouTube chat, so you can follow the community discussions regardless of where you watch.

Vida and Julius (off-screen support, but also in our hearts) are set to return to YouTube and Twitch on May 16th at 4pm EEST (2pm BST), talking to Anne-Lynn Sottas (Senior Environment Artist), Anne-Marie Grönroos (Lead Mission Designer), and Kyle Rowley (Game Director) on recreating the Pacific Northwest.

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30th April 2024 Remedy Announces Changes to its Core Management Team

April turned out to be a busy month for both the Swedish and Finnish studios. Last Thursday, Remedy announced changes to its core management team, with a new departure and a new promotion. 

The Departure of Remedy's COO

The company's COO, Christopher Schmitz, revealed that he would be stepping down from the role on May 31st 2024. 

Those who have been following The Sudden Stop for a while or keeping an eye on Remedy's investor's page may remember other c-suite changes at the end of last year. In their press release, the studio addresses that topic, stating that the company "has made management reorganizations in 2023 and in 2024, including the earlier changes made to the Chief Product Officer (CPO) role and appointment of a new Chief Technology Officer (CTO). These developments have been made to better manage and support Remedy’s game portfolio and game development personnel. With these organizational changes, the previous COO responsibilities are distributed to other management team members, and Remedy will not look for a replacement."

CEO, Tero Virtala praised Christopher's contributions to the studio, "“Christopher Schmitz has had various responsibilities during the past five years, with which he has helped in building the foundations of our multi-project model, and developing game project leadership, as well as selected support functions. I want to warmly thank him and wish him all the best in his next endeavors.”

Christopher had been Remedy's Chief Operating Officer, serving in the executive management team, since April 2019, when he moved to Helsinki from his previous role at EA in Göteborg. His role consisted of the day-to-day operations of the company, including assembling, mentoring, and leading development teams, and ensuring they had the direction and resources they needed.

Following the news going public, Christopher expanded on his departure via his LinkedIn page, stating, "It was a blast. Finland will forever be my second home. And Remedy will forever stay close to my heart. It’s really difficult to leave so many talented developers and good human beings behind. Now on to new super exciting ventures. Stay tuned."

Appointment of Remedy's Second Creative Director

The document goes on to announce a further change to the Core Management Team, with Mikael Kasurinen's promotion to Creative Director alongside Sam Lake (listed as Sami Järvi in the statement). 

The statement reads that "Mikael Kasurinen has been appointed as Creative Director and will join Remedy’s Core Management Team. He will continue to report directly to CEO Tero Virtala. Kasurinen will work alongside Sami Järvi, who has acted as a company Creative Director and Creative Director of Alan Wake 2. Kasurinen worked for Remedy from 2001 to 2010 and joined Remedy again in 2014. He acted as the Game Director of Control since 2016 and currently he is the Game Director of Control 2."

The press release goes on to add that "As Creative Directors of Remedy, Järvi and Kasurinen continue their current responsibilities in Alan Wake and Control franchises and will share the companywide Creative Director responsibilities going forward. They support game projects’ creative leadership so that we can make outstanding games aligned with Remedy’s strategy and operational priorities."

In his closing remarks, Tero Virtala welcomes him to Core Management Team, “He is a highly respected, experienced and accomplished creative leader.  Kasurinen and Järvi have worked together in a number of games, and they have complementary world class skills. With this arrangement, we can ensure the needed focus on growing Alan Wake and Control into larger franchises, and the right type of creative guidance and support that all our game teams can benefit from”.

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28th April 2024 Alan Wake 2 Wins Webby Award in "Best Music/Sound Design"

As we entered the weekend, the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS) announced the winners, nominees, and honorees for this year's Webby Awards, with Alan Wake 2 taking home Best Music/Sound Design, alongside Lies of P (People's Voice Winner)!

Nominees for the category included Atomic Heart, COCOON, and Dead Space, with honoree mentions for Monopoly GO! and Oxenfree II: Lost Signals. 

Celebrating their win on Instagram, Remedy posted, "Alan Wake 2 won the Webby Award for Best Music/Sound Design in the Games category! Thank you to all the champions of light (and heralds of darkness) who voted for the game!"

The Alan Wake series is no stranger to the Webby Awards, having received honoree status in 2011 across three categories; Websites & Mobile Sites, Apps & Software, and Advertising, Media & PR. This year, its sequel received nominations for Best Art Direction and Best Game Design.

Created in 1996, the Webbys were established to celebrate the creative growth and achievements made in media across the internet. With a judging body of over three thousand members, the IADAS organisation sifts through nominations across nine major media types; 1) Websites & Mobile Sites, 2) Video, 3) Advertising, Media and PR, 4) Apps & Software, 5) Social, 6) Podcasts, 7) Games, 8) AI, Metaverse & Virtual, and finally 9) Special Achievement. You can learn more about the awards HERE. 

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