Summary
Acclaimed game developer Remedy Entertainment has announced the cancellation of its co-op multiplayer game, codenamedKestrel. This decision comes amidRemedyprioritizing the allocation of resources towards other ongoing projects within its portfolio.
Historically renowned for its single-player experiences like theAlan WakeandControlseries, Remedy’s foray into multiplayer development withKestrelwas a departure from the norm. It wasn’t the only multiplayer game the studio was working on, though, because it also confirmed the existence of aControlmultiplayer spin-off codenamedCondor. According to recentupdates from Remedy about its upcoming projects,Condorhas moved into the full production stage, but theKestrelteam was still working on refining the concept.
As it turns out,Kestrelwon’t ever see the light of day, as Remedy has decided to cancel the premium multiplayer co-op game entirely. According to a newpress release from Remedy, the decision to cancelKestrelallows the studio to dedicate more resources to its other ongoing projects, namelyControl 2,Max Payne 1+2 Remake, andCondor. Remedy will reassignKestrel’s developers to these projects, as well as remove its future “investment needs” and scale back hiring efforts. Since theRemedy game was being co-financed by Tencent, it’s also presumed that Remedy has ended its relationship with the company for the moment.
Kestrel Was in the Proof-of-concept Stage for Over 2 Years
Remedy CEO Tero Virtala thanked Tencent for the partnership in the press release and praised its support. The project initiallystarted life under the codenameVanguardand was announced to be in development all the way back in 2021, eventually being completely rebooted asKestrelin November 2023. It was speculated that the game was undergoing some form of turmoil during its development, having been in the early concept stage for nearly two and a half years, while other projects progressed on schedule.
The cancellation helps streamline the studio’s development pipeline, and the influx of developers to other projects will undoubtedly help expedite their timelines. It can also be argued that with four high-caliber AAA games in development prior toKestrel’s cancellation, Remedy may have been stretched too thin. The decision to discontinueKestrelwas primarily about focus.Remedy remains confident inCondor, its other multiplayer project which is still currently in development, and withControl 2andMax Payne 1+2 Remakeon track as well, the next few years may yet be prosperous for the decorated studio.
