Alan Wake studio Remedy is staying very busy. In addition to Alan Wake 2, the studio has now announced a big deal with Tencent for its upcoming free-to-play shooter Vanguard.
Remedy and Tencent have announced a deal covering “global development, license, and distribution” of the new IP. Little is known about Vanguard, but Remedy says it’s a co-op PvE shooter that makes the most of Remedy’s “narrative expertise and action gameplay” to create an “immersive multiplayer experience.”
“The game is developed with the Unreal Engine for PC and console platforms. Remedy will develop and publish the game worldwide, excluding selected Asian markets, where Tencent will localize and publish the game,” Remedy said in its announcement.
Vanguard is in the “proof-of-concept phase” of development, and Remedy said the budget for the game through the end of its first year will be “in the range of a typical Remedy AAA game budget.”
Development will be co-funded by Remedy and Tencent, and Tencent will cover the costs of localizing Vanguard for Asian markets.
“Remedy and Tencent will be responsible for their own publishing and game operating costs in their respective territories while sharing a portion of revenue to the other party after the recoupment of the development costs,” Remedy said.
Additionally, Tencent has sold the global rights to a mobile version of Vanguard to Tencent, which will cover the expenses of developing and publishing the mobile edition.
Vanguard is Remedy’s first games-as-a-service title, and Remedy CEO Tero Virtala said in a statement that this is an exciting time for the company.
“Vanguard marks Remedy’s first entry into Games-as-a-Service business model, executed by our top tier team of free-to-play experts. We are building something new and exciting for co-operative multiplayer space, on top of Remedy’s strengths,” Virtala said. Expanding our capabilities to take on publishing responsibilities is the next step in the development of our company. We are excited for this long-term partnership with Tencent and with confidence can say that it is an excellent fit in supporting Vanguard’s ambitious plans. Vanguard is a global opportunity, and Tencent can support Remedy internationally, and lead the operations in Asia and the mobile markets.”
No release date for Vanguard was announced, but because it’s in the proof-of-concept phase, it’s likely still quite some time off. Remedy is also working on Alan Wake 2, among other projects.
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