Are Remedy and Epic right to make Alan Wake 2 digital-only? | Opinion
One of the games shown during Sony’s latest PlayStation Showcase this week was Alan Wake 2.
The survival horror game from Remedy (and published by Epic Games) looked great, but there was a surprise piece of information that came out afterwards: it will be a digital-only release.
In an FAQ on the developer’s website, the company explained its decision, and began by stating: ‘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.’
This is, of course, true. But we are not talking about some smaller project here with no established audience, we’re talking about a visually impressive survival horror sequel from the award-winning developer behind Max Payne and Control. It is uncommon to see a game of this type be released digital-only.
The observation around the digital-only consoles is also accurate. In some markets, Xbox Series S is the most popular Xbox platform, and as a result, Xbox has become a major digital platform. In some cases, publishers are releasing games where over 80% of sales are coming via the Xbox digital store.
"In Europe, the Dead Space remake sold comfortably better in a box than it did as a download"
Xbox is the spiritual home of Alan Wake, and so that’s significant. However, the situation with PlayStation – the platform that Remedy and Epic has partnered with for Alan Wake 2 – is different. Less than 15% of all PS5s sold in the UK are for the all-digital version, and as a result the digital market share on PlayStation formats is significantly lower. In fact, it’s not entirely unusual for PS5 games to sell better at physical retail.
Remedy isn’t wrong, of course. Digital has
Read more on gamesindustry.biz
