Remedy Entertainment, the independent studio that gave us iconic blockbusters such as Max Payne, Alan Wake, Quantum Break, Control, and most recently, FBC: Firebreak, have reached its 30th anniversary this month. Founded in August of 1995, they began making games in one of their co-founders’ basements, starting with Death Rally.
“We started making video games in Espoo, Finland, likely because we wanted to escape the long and dark Finnish winters, we found the secret ingredient: an ocean’s worth of coffee, a lot of curiosity, and an even larger dose of passion. Those have kept us going and brought us to this moment, 30 years later.” Said Remedy’s co-founder and board chairman, Markus Mäki.
Reflecting upon the past 30 years, Markus added, “The offices have improved, and the coffee machines even more so. We remain curious and passionate about creating memorable experiences, and we’re eager to see where that takes us. Above all, we are incredibly grateful to all of our fans taking this trip with us (and for coffee).”
When you look at their work, it is really easy to see the passion instilled within. A sterling example of this is 2010’s Bright Falls, where they oversaw and cleared every single decision in the making of it, as well as setting clear boundaries with the film-makers to ensure they stayed within the established world of Alan Wake. This mini-series acted as both a promotional tool and a prequel to what is arguably their most iconic title.
Since their basement days, Remedy has significantly expanded, and while still headquartered in Espoo, Finland. They also have an office in Stockholm, Sweden, employ over 300 people, from more than 30 different nations, and have established worldwide partnerships with entities such as Tencent to expand into the global market.
This month, they released several exciting products to celebrate this impressive milestone. Starting off with assigning incredible artist Valentina Paz to create an illustration showing all of Remedy’s characters. Valentina decided to make the piece entitled Reunion, depicting all of Remedy’s creations at the aftermath of an Old Gods of Asgard concert.
Remedy has also collaborated with iam8bit to produce and present a one-of-a-kind merchandise line, which includes a Max Payne shirt, a Control pin set, a Night Springs VHS set (from Alan Wake), and more. Unfortunately, the ever sought-after Oh Deer Diner thermos is already sold out; however, you can find it on sites such as eBay and Etsy.
The Northlight powered house has also teamed up with British design studio Lost In Cult, to bring their Alan Wake fans a real treat known as Alan Wake: Design Works. This is a chance for fans to take a real deep dive into this ocean like never before! The first 500 deluxe editions are accompanied by signatures from the series creator, Sam Lake, as well as the art director, Janne Pulkkinen, and the co-creative director of Alan Wake II, Kyle Rowley.
Lastly, as of Wednesday, August 27th (the sixth anniversary of Control), Remedy began giving all its fans the most inviting gift by initiating Remedy Games, a series of streams on both YouTube and Twitch.
They will play some of their games from start to finish and converse with those responsible for creating them, beginning with Control to mark its latest anniversary. For even more information on what Remedy is doing to mark their 30th year, you can find it all here.
Words by Alfie Fletcher
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