Remedy’s new CEO says Alan Wake and Control ‘should have sold more’

Remedy CEO Jean-Charles Guadechon thinks Alan Wake and Control “should have sold more”.

Remedy CEO Jean-Charles Guadechon thinks Alan Wake and Control “should have sold more”.

The gaming studio’s newly appointed chief has weighed in on the two major franchises, with the company having already inked a deal with Annapurna for TV shows and movies based on the two IPs before Guadechon took over.

Speaking to The game Business, he said: “We need to think more about how we are approaching our IPs as a franchise. 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.”

He insisted the priority has to be to “maximise the potential” of existing properties “because they’re incredible”.

He added: “Remedy is already one of the biggest game authors, with very strong signature products.

“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.

“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.”

Gaudechon has come from EA, but he vowed not to change the culture or “crush the soul” of Remedy with ideas tailored for “a massive company”.

he explained: “I think I got chosen because I know exactly what Remedy is. And what needs to be protected, needs to be supported and needs to be grown. Remedy is one-of-a-kind.

“It’s a studio that has amazing creative drive. It’s a studio that also has been messy here or there, and that’s the beauty of the type of games that were made and how.

“What I hope I can bring to Remedy is vision on where the company could go and where we could make some improvements.

“Who am I to change the DNA of a 30-year successful game studio?”