Remedy cancels one of its multiplayer games to better focus on existing franchises

Alan Wake 2 studio Remedy is keeping itself busy with a bunch of different projects. As of May 7, though, it’s decided to can one of those projects; specifically the Tencent funded Kestrel.

The announcement comes via a Remedy press release, which explains how the cancellation “allows Remedy to focus more on the other games in its portfolio.” As a reminder, the studio is currently working on a Control sequel alongside a multiplayer spin-off codenamed Condor, as well as remakes of the first two Max Payne games. There’s fortunately no mention of the cancellation resulting in layoffs, with Kestrel’s staff being reallocated to other projects. Although this does mean Remedy has reduced its overall recruitment needs.

Kestrel was originally codenamed Vanguard, and was set to be a free-to-play co-op game, but changes within the free-to-play market saw it be rebooted into a premium title back in November 2023, albeit one still with an emphasis on multiplayer. Remedy never confirmed anything else, but it likely would have been an original IP considering its cancellation was motivated by a desire to prioritize Remedy’s established franchises. A statement from Remedy CEO Tero Virtala also explained how Kestrel was still in the early concept stage, whereas other projects have “advanced well and are moving to the next stages of development.”

It’s a tad surprising considering Tencent was not only helping with funding, but would also co-publish Kestrel. Not to mention it had raised its stake in Remedy from 3.8% to 14% just last week on April 29 (per GamesIndustry.biz). However, it was clearly a mutual decision to cancel Kestrel, with Virtala adding, “I also want to thank Tencent for their partnership so far. They have been very professional and supportive.”

While it’s always a shame for a game to be scrapped, it may have been for the best for Remedy. Even if it was no longer free-to-play, Kestrel likely would have had live service elements and plans for long-term support, and maintaining a multiplayer game like that nowadays is very difficult. There’s simply too much competition, and older, established titles like Fortnite have a stranglehold on the market. Helldivers 2 proved it is possible to succeed despite the odds, but there’s a far larger number of short-lived examples, like Rumbleverse, Babylon’s Fall, and Square Enix’s Marvel’s Avengers.