Remedy has revealed that Alan Wake 2 will be a digital-only release on both PC and consoles, stating that the decision was made to keep the game at a lower cost and because most players don't buy physical copies of games anymore.
Alan Wake fans might be feeling like they're on cloud nine right now after the release date announcement of Alan Wake 2 during the PlayStation Showcase, but we have some news that might bring you crashing back down to Earth - Remedy has confirmed that Alan Wake 2 won't receive a physical release.
Over on the Alan Wake 2 website, Remedy shared an FAQ that mostly centres around ways to pre-order the game and what different versions of it will be available. Importantly, however, it reveals that Alan Wake 2 is a digital-only release, with Remedy justifying the choice by saying that most players don't buy physical copies and that it keeps the game at a slightly lower price.
When asked why Alan Wake 2 is a digital-only release, Remedy said, "There are many reasons for this. For one, a large number of have shifted to digital only. You can buy a Sony PlayStation 5 without a disc drive and Microsoft’s Xbox Series S is a digital only console. It is not uncommon to release modern games as digital-only."
The statement continues, "Secondly, not releasing a disc helps keep the price of the game at $59.99 / €59.99 and the PC version at $49.99 / €49.99. Finally, we did not want to ship a disc product and have it require a download for the game — we do not think this would make for a great experience either."
The FAQ continues, with one question asking if there's a disk version of the game currently in the works and the response reading, "There are currently no plans to release Alan Wake 2 on disc". It seems that Remedy is pretty set on not releasing a physical version of the game. However, it does say that there are "currently" no plans, which means that things could potentially change in the future.
We've also seen how well this has gone for publishers recently, like when Redfall was hit with massive amounts of backlash when it was rumoured to not have a disk version. That ended up being a mistake, but we can see it happening again here with Alan Wake 2, especially considering how beloved the first was.
It also doesn't help that the original Alan Wake was removed from digital storefronts back in 2017 due to expiring music licenses, which doesn't exactly put faith in the sequel only having a digital release. We'll have to wait and see if the inevitable backlash that this decision receives causes Remedy to change its mind.