Remedy free-to-play multiplayer title gets upgraded to “premium” game
Remedy Entertainment has announced that it plans to reboot its project Vanguard, a free-to-play multiplayer game, as a “premium game with a strong cooperative multiplayer component” under the new codename Kestrel.
It looks like Remedy, which has traditionally focused on creating single-player experiences, has taken note that launching cash-grabbing live-service games is more difficult than it seems, as recent examples like the cancellation of Creative Assembly’s Hyenas have shown.
Remedy Entertainment is switching gears with project Vanguard becoming project Kestrel.
Remedy Entertainment
“Remedy signed a global agreement with Tencent as its publishing partner on December 28, 2021, to develop Vanguard. Due to uncertainties in creating a successful game to the rapidly changing free-to-play market and associated risks, the parties have discussed a new direction for the game project,” the announcement put out by the company reads.
Vanguard seems to have reached the end of the proof-of-concept phase, after which Remedy and Tencent made the call not to progress in the direction envisioned originally. Kestrel returns into a concept phase with Remedy stating that the “new experience will lean more into Remedy’s core strengths and be built on many of the features, assets and themes already designed for Vanguard.”
Fortunately, this decision doesn’t seem to have led to any layoffs at the company with developers on the Vanguard team either being moved to other projects or taking part in the conceptualization of Kestrel.
Tero Virtala, the CEO of Remedy Entertainment, commented: “We have made some great strides in free-to-play and multiplayer development in Vanguard. After a lot of careful consideration, we believe that taking on a new direction where the game will be built more around Remedy’s core competences is the right way to go. We are creating another distinct Remedy game with Tencent’s continued support in making a great cooperative multiplayer experience.”
Remedy’s most recent release, Alan Wake 2, was a success among critics and users. Alan Wake 2 DLC has already been announced, making up some of the projects currently in the works at the studio alongside Kestrel, remakes for Max Payne for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S, a sequel to Control, and a Control spin-off codenamed Condor.
