My hopes and predictions for the Game Awards did not come true at all, but the night did have one big announcement I didn’t expect.

Alan Wake II is real, officially announced for 2023.

It didn’t come entirely out of nowhere. There were rumors of an Alan Wake sequel in development, and the Alan Wake remaster together with Control’s AWE expansion made it seem likely Remedy planned to do more with it, but the announcement still was a welcome surprise.

Not only that, but Alan Wake II will actually be a survival horror game.

Sometimes Alan Wake is described as horror, and it certainly has its creepy aspects, but it plays more like an action game than a horror game. I believe it’s officially considered a thriller. Alan Wake II, however, has been described as “Remedy’s first-ever survival horror game.”

While the trailer doesn’t reveal a lot, it references Mr. Scratch with the quote “Your friends will meet him when you’re gone” visible on a sign (and that might even be him in the stinger at the end). The cancelled Alan Wake 2 prototype video released in 2015 revealed that Mr. Scratch was a big part of the sequel plans, so he might still be a major threat.

It will be interesting to see what they do with the survival horror genre. The spin-off/sequel American Nightmare was more focused on action, and now the full sequel has gone in the other direction into horror.

(Judging by the trailer’s rating, it might also get a M rating instead of T like the original.)

I’ve been waiting for an Alan Wake sequel ever since I finished the first game. Of course, now I have to wait until 2023 – but that should give me time to finally play Control and its DLC! Alan Wake II has been announced for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via the Epic Games Store, so the 2023 release window should also give me enough time to actually get a PS5.

Are you looking forward to Alan Wake II?