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1st January 2019
Year In Review [2018]

Keeping with tradition (201220132014, 2015, 20162017) we're back with another Year In Review! 

These past twelve months has been absolutely insane with the announcement of Control (previously known as "P7"), the announced continuation of Remedy's partnership with Smilegate, the move to a new custom-made studio, the return of Alan Wake to digital marketplaces, plus the collaboration between Remedy and Contradiction Films to bring an Alan Wake TV series to life!  The community too has been busy with over a dozen new hubs for fans to discuss the latest announcements, new anniversaries, and tonnes of gorgeous fan art. It's been a crazy year! 

Here's a wrap up over everything that has happened over 2018:



24th January - Poets of the Fall Teases False Kings Single
Early on in the year, Poets of the Fall (aka Old Gods of Asgard) started up their advertising campaign for Ultraviolet, with a teaser for its first single, False Kings.



1st February - Terhi Kauppi Becomes CFO
Following Mika Reini’s departure from Remedy, the studio announced that Terhi Kauppi would be taking over from May 14th.



2nd February - POTF's False Kings Released
POTF released their first single from their upcoming Ultraviolet album, False Kings, which had a rather nice James Bond vibe.



4th February - The Sudden Stop's Sixth Anniversary
Thank you for all of the support!


14th February - Valentine's Day
To celebrate Valentine’s Day, a number of community members put together their best puns to bring you a lot of cheese, including from community members; EmmyGray, Charlie, and Patrick. [Artwork by Emme-Gray]



18th February - Remedy’s 2017 Financial Report Summary
Remedy’s 2017 Financial Report teased an upcoming move for the studio, preliminary preparations for a third game and a 2019 release target for “P7”.



19th February - Lunar New Year
To celebrate the Lunar New Year, we wrapped up the activities taking place in the gaming community for the occasion and spotlight some newly created artwork by the talented Carla. [Artwork by Carla]


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28th February - Community Spotlight: Kate’s Concoctions
In February, we spoke to the lovely Kate, owner of the Tumblr blog, drinkyourfavouritecharacters, about her latest series of Alan Wake inspired drinks.




1st March - World Book Day UK
To celebrate World Book Day in the UK, we looked back at a number of Remedy-related books recommend by developers.



9th March - Final Quantum Break XBOX Patch
Last March, Remedy released their final patch for Quantum Break which saw graphical changes to the XBOX One X edition of the game.



To celebrate International Women's Day, the community spotlighted their favourite female heroes both imagined and real. [Photo by Remedy]



20th March - Microsoft DirectX Raytracing API
At a GDC talk, Remedy revealed their collaboration and experimentation with Nvidia on the Microsoft DirectX Raytracing (DXR) API, and its integration into their in-house Northlight engine.


24th March - PayneReactor Celebrates 19th Anniversary
PayneReactor celebrated their 19th anniversary in March, stepping one year closer to the big two decade milestone!



Following their teaser earlier in the year, Poets of the Fall revealed new details of their upcoming album, Ultraviolet. 
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[March] - Community Spotlight: Beavers-Lodge Art
In  March, we spoke to Beavers-Lodge about their gorgeous traditionally-drawn Alan Wake artwork. [Artwork by Beavers-Lodge]


1st April - Remedy’s April Fools Video
Remedy released a new April Fools Video for 2018! The clip featured the studio's Creative Director, Sam Lake, as he explains that  the studio will turning their attention away from video games and to producing coffee with their “Cauldron Lake Blend”.


12th April - Community Spotlight: A Modern Myth
Alan Wake fan and artist, Kristy (InvisibleRain) released her first book, A Modern Myth, under her pseudonym, Clara Wake. [Photo by Clara]


24th April - “Planning a Remedy Dev Day”
In late April, Head of Communications, Thomas Puha wrote a guest article for Gamasutra detailing their Remedy Dev Day (a conference open for Remedy developers), and the work that has went into creating their 2018 event.


28th April - Katerina Launches dA Communtiy Group
The wonderful Katerina, also known as SeaCat2401, started up a new deviantArt group dedicated to the talented artists in the Remedy community. [Artwork by SeaCat2401]


4th May - Remedy-Themed Sneakers
At this year's SneakerBash 2018, the studio ran a special competition for a custom-painted pair of Air Jordans (by queenofcustomz), designed with the Remedy logo and the words "With Love From Espoo". The pair was raffled off at the Remedy stall at the event. [Photo by Remedy]



A long-promised feature, we published our first Bookhouse article looking at the start of Twin Peaks (a notable inspiration for Alan Wake).


14th May - Alan Wake Eighth Anniversary
The community celebrated the eighth anniversary of Alan Wake in May with new articles, tweets, and artwork.


24th May - Uuno’s Mo-Cap Experiment
As part of a motion capture experiment, Uuno the Dog was brought in to try a custom-made puppy suit as the animation team trialled tracking the dog’s movements. [Photo by Remedy]



In late May, Remedy moved studios from Kappelitie 8 to Luomanportti 3. While the move distance was relatively small, the new building is not only larger but is tailor-made to the company’s changing goals.


29th May - Community Spotlight: AceDhampir's Artwork
Acedhampir was our Community Spotlight for May as we featured her brilliant art and spoke to her about her inspirations and influences. [Art by AceDhampir]



In a surprise announcement, Remedy and 505Games revealed Control, formerly known as “P7”, with a trailer shown during the Playstation Media Briefing. 



Remedy recorded footage of their travel to Los Angeles to attend E3 2018, for their first Remedy Roadshow episode.


13th June - Remedy Roadshow Episode 2
On the second day of E3 2018, the Remedy Roadshow Episode 2 focused on the reaction to the newly announced Control trailer.



Our Community Spotlight for June was all the amazing fans who created artwork following the Control announcement. [Art by Blu_Flame]



25th June - Remedy Roadshow Episode 3 
In their third Remedy Roadshow episode, clips reveal the developer's hectic schedule at E3, and featured more behind the scenes glimpses and interviews.



26th June - Crossfire 2 Trailer Released
Eagle eye fan, Abel09 from the Remedy Forums, noticed a sneaky Crossfire 2 trailer launch earlier in the month, giving players the first glimpse into the next adventure.



Back in the June, the team behind the DOS Game Club focused on the original Death Rally in an in-depth podcast.



3rd July - Control Developer Diary Episode 1
In the first episode, the team talks about how they approached Control's world and how they changed their approach to narrative while still focusing on the story.



5th July - Pelaaja Control Cover
Finland's Pelaaja magazine was one of the first to have Control on their cover as Remedy's Jesse Faden graced the cover for July 2018 (Issue 190-191, double issue).



Poets of the Fall revealed their cover and pre-order bundles, including signed postcards for early buyers, for their upcoming album, Ultraviolet.



Amelia Rose Blaire (Quantum Break’s Amy Ferrero) and Bryan Dechart (Detroit: Become Human’s Connor) married following their public engagement announcement on Twitter. 



Artistic superstar, Melissa (melfpic on Instagram) was our Community Spotlight in July! We spoke to her about her influences and how she became a Remedy fan. [Art by Melfpic]



In an interview with GamesIndustry.biz, Remedy’s CEO Tero Virtala spoke about the studio’s owning its own destiny with their new approach. 



18th July - OutsideXBOX's Remedy Themed Show of the Week
Following Control's reveal at E3, YouTube channel OutsideXBOX, spotlighted the game in a light-hearted and informative video.



The community celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of Max Payne in July as fans looked back at a title that means a lot to many people.



25th July - Control Developer Diary Episode 2
In Remedy's second Control Diary, the developers discuss the studio's different approach to Control's gameplay, how it compares to Remedy's previous work, the non-linear style, and player control.



2nd August - New Crossfire HD Gameplay Trailer
Once again, fellow Remedy fan and forum member, Abel09, tracked down a new gameplay trailer for Crossfire 2.



In August, we spotlighted Fraser, a talented artist with an iconic style who also became a moderator for the Alan Wake community server on Discord! [Art by Fraser]



6th August - Poets of the Fall's 15th Anniversary
To celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of Poets of the Fall, we spoke to Akseli Tuomivaara, the Director of their music video, War, to learn more about how the video came to be. [Photo by Tiia Öhman]



7th August - Control Developer Diary Episode 3
In their third development diary, Remedy shared details about what players can expect as they explore The Oldest House.


Remedy released their second bi-annual financial report in August, which provided updates to Control and Crossfire 2 which saw development proceeding to schedule, changes within the studio, and the developers which make up the company.


Following the Nvidia Gamescom Briefing, 505Games and Remedy uploaded a new trailer for Control; an NvidiaRTX demo showcasing ray-tracing in the title.



29th August - Control on Pelit and Reboot
Following its reveal at E3 2018, Control started to conquer the covers of gaming magazines, with another two revealing Jesse on the cover in August. The covers were Pelit (Finland) and Reboot (Croatia). [Photo by Reboot]



In a surprise announcement, Remedy revealed a new development team called Vanguard, who works within the studio and focuses on ongoing experiences. 



In late August, Microsoft announced a number of new titles coming to XBOX Game Pass in September 2018, including Quantum Break!


31st August - Remedy's Housewarming Party
The studio celebrated the completion of their studio move in August. A short distance away from their previous accommodation, their new building is much larger and created to specific requirements of the team and future plans.



3rd September - Community Survey
We wanted to find out more about you in September! Thank you to more than a hundred Remedy fans who let us know what they wanted to see from us in the coming year.


Poets of the Fall released their second single from their upcoming album, Ultraviolet, Dancing on Broken Glass. The single would be the final teaser before the full collection would be release.



12th September - Alan Wake TV Collaboration 
Variety broke the news that Remedy was now working with Contradiction Films to bring an Alan Wake television show to fans. Peter Calloway has signed on as the show runner and writer with Sam Lake as the show's Executive Producer. [Photo by Sam Lake, Twitter]


15th September - 77th Annual Deerfest
To celebrate the 77th annual Deerfest, a fictional event celebrating community in Alan Wake, the game's fandom came together to create new artwork, posts and articles for the occasion. [Art by Rudy]


17th September - PC Gamer Spotlights Control
In mid-September, PC Gamer revealed their latest magazine cover (issue 323), which featured gorgeous never-before-seen Control artwork created by Remedy's in-house art team and new interviews.



20th September - Remedy at EGX
Remedy’s Associate Community Manager, Vida, travelled to Birmingham in England to showcase Gamecom’s and E3’s behind-closed-doors demo on the Playstation Access stage. [Photo by Remedy]



21st September - Control Developer Diary Episode 4
In the fourth instalment of the series, we heard from Courtney Hope, Heli Salomaa, Eevi Korhonen, Mikael Kasurinen, and Sam Lake, about Remedy's new and first heroine, Jesse Faden.



22nd September - Remedy at PAX West
Remedy’s Communications Director, Thomas Puha, travelled to PAX West 2018 to talk about single player games and their endurance in the industry.



24th September - New Lowland Album
Petri Alanko (Composer for Alan Wake, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare, Agents of Storm, and Quantum Break) released his new Lowland album, We've Been Here Before). [Photo by Petri Alanko, Twitter]


In the first of two surprise announcements, James McCaffrey, known to the community as the voice of Max Payne and Thomas Zane, was announced to be joining Control’s cast as Director Zachariah Trench.



30th September - Community Spotlight: Gatto’s Art 
Our Community Spotlighted artist for September was Gatto whose gorgeous Alan Wake work caught our eye! [Art by Gatto]



Just days before their New York Comic Con panel, the voice of Alan Wake, Matthew Porretta, was revealed to be the second surprise cast member for Control, giving life to Dr Casper Darling.



Poets of the Fall released their eighth studio album, Ultraviolet, in early October bringing to the end their 15th anniversary tour and launching their new album show.


Remedy took to the stage at New York Comic Con to talk Control. The panel including Sam Lake (Creative Director), Courtney Hope (Actor, Jesse Faden), James McCaffrey (Actor, Director Zachariah Trench), and Matthew Porretta (Actor, Doctor Casper Darling.) [Photo by Remedy]


6th October - Control Developer Diary Episode 5
In the fifth instalment of the Dev Diary series, we're introduced to directors of the Federal Bureau of Control, both old and new with interviews from the cast and developers.



13th October - In the Wake of the TV Reveal
Following the announcement of Remedy's and Contradiction Film's collaboration on an Alan Wake TV series, a number of fans created new artwork and posts to celebrate the news. [Art by Evil-Owl-Loki]



The community came together to celebrate the fifteen anniversary of Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne’s launch with new articles, retrospectives, artwork, giveaways, and more!


Remedy and streaming-duo, Amelia Rose Blaire & Bryan Dechart, were nominated in this year’s Golden Joystick Awards. The former received the nomination for “Most Wanted” with Control, with the latter nominated as “Best Streamer”.


25th October - Alan Wake Back on Sale
After eighteen months, the original Alan Wake title returned to digital marketplaces as Microsoft completed renegotiations in the game’s music licensing. 


In late October it was announced that Remedy and Smilegate will continue their partnership beyond Crossfire 2 with work already taking place on their next collaboration. 


27th October - Patrick and PayneReactor
Continuing our Max Payne theme, it felt only fitting to spotlight one of the most dedicated Max Payne community projects, PayneReactor, and its owner, Patrick. [Photo by Patrick/PayneReactor, Twitter]



Two years after its launch, Quantum Break won a Webby for its crisp game interface. (Thanks to Erika for catching this!)



31st October - Remedy’s Halloween Livestream
Remedy's Associate Community Manager, Vida Starčević hosted an Alan Wake livestream with guests Sam Lake and Ilkka Villi to celebrate the game coming back to digital stores. [Art by Carla]



For our Halloween post, we looked at one of my favourite antagonists, the shifty Shifters from Quantum Break. We looked at concept artwork, how their role has changed, and the level in which they’re king. 



7th November - Inktober Wrap Up
We wrapped up the beautiful artwork created by Remedy fans for Inktober. Artists include Emme-Gray, Jack Lennon, SeaCat2401, and many more! 



Rotorri’s beautiful and stylish artwork caught our eye this past November. [Art by Rotorri]


13th November - Control’s Wrinkle Training Map Test
In November, Remedy uploaded their latest test; making sure Jesse's facial animations smoothly flow from one expression to the next.


14th November - Prima Games Due to Close
Prima Games, the publisher behind The Secret History of Time Travel, Alan Wake Illuminated and the Alan Wake Strategy Guide, announced that they are due to close next March following an impressive thirty year run.


A number of former Remedy dev including Matias Myllyrinne, Miloš Jeřábek, Mikko Uromo and other brilliant developers founds new Helsinki-based studio, RedHill Games.



Oh hey! We did an advent calendar. If you missed it, we had articles, new features, artwork spotlights, giveaways, and a lot more. [Commissioned art by Rm_ilo]

The wonderful Patrick of PayneReactor summarised his top moments from the past twelve moments.

Fellow fansite, Comunidad Remedy celebrated their third anniversary this year! Congratulations on the milestone, Fran! 


Sam Lake (Writer) and Minttu Wikberg (Illustrator) released their second book, Faarin Karonnu Karhu, a time travel story in which two children explores the world in which their grandparents had lived. 


Vida Starčević hosts the second Remedy livestream dedicated to Control with guests Sam Lake (Creative Director), Courtney Hope (Lead Actor), Mikael Kasurinen (Game Director) and Thomas Puha (Communications Director).


In a final website update of the year, Remedy's Media Team posted a wrap up of the events from the past year. [Image by Remedy]


For our final Community Spotlight of the year, we featured the amazing Holly Nightmare, co-owner of the Control community Discord server, game wikia, and community Reddit channel. [Art by Tsunderekatsu]


-- CONSOLE & PC GAMES --

Formerly "Vanguard"

The Crossfire Series

The Control Series

The Quantum Break Series

The Alan Wake Series

The Max Payne Series

-- MOBILE GAMES --

-- LIVE ACTION SERIES --

Icons by the incredible, Evil-Owl-Loki.

Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle illuminated.