Remedy says Alan Wake 2 DLC won't set up Control 2 but there will be "hints about things to come"

Remember how Control's AWE expansion served as a follow-up to Alan Wake and a prelude to the recent survival horror sequel, Alan Wake 2? Remedy says it isn't looking to replicate that with Alan Wake 2's two confirmed expansions and Control 2, although they will contain hints to the sequel.

Talking to Exputer, Remedy creative director Sam Lake said not to expect Alan Wake 2 DLC to directly set up Control 2, even though one expansion focuses specifically on the Federal Bureau of Control.

"The expansions give us an opportunity to glimpse aspects of our universe that were not able to explore in Alan Wake 2 otherwise," Lake said. "We are excited about this. We were happy with what we achieved with Control's AWE expansion regarding setting up Alan Wake 2. That said, we are not looking to repeat that exactly. The Lake House will have a big focus on the Federal Bureau of Control and its research facility at Cauldron Lake. Beyond that, no matter how much, there will be hints about things to come in the Control sequel, you'll have to wait and see."

Obviously the wording here is vague, but it sounds like Alan Wake 2's connection to Control 2 via DLC won't be as overt as Control's AWE expansion was in setting up the sequel. I'm psyched that we'll get hints at Control 2's story, but it definitely seems Lake is trying to tamp down expectations somewhat. 

It's also safe to assume Control 2 is still quite a long way from releasing, and Remedy probably isn't keen on putting the cart before the horse by digging too deep into the story via Alan Wake 2 DLC. The sequel to Control was first confirmed back in November 2022, at which time game director Mikael Kasurinen said, "it'll take a while" to make. More recently, this last October Remedy CEO Tero Virtala revealed Control 2 is still in the "proof-of-concept" stage. So yeah, while we can all reasonably hope it won't take as long as Alan Wake 2 to come out, Control 2 is definitely still very early in development.

Remedy has confirmed Alan Wake 2 is getting two expansions, titled Night Springs and Lake House, respectively. Night Springs will release first and will expand on the titular in-universe TV show paying homage to The Twilight Zone, and then Lake House will connect to the Control universe with a focus on the FBC. Both expansions are due to release sometime this year, but specific release dates haven't been revealed.

For everything on the horizon, check out our full guide to new games of 2024 and beyond.