Remedy Connected Universe

The **Remedy Connected Universe** is a shared fictional universe created by Remedy Entertainment. Within the Remedy Connected Universe, standalone video games belong to a larger fictional universe and share elements of lore, characters, and story.

While hints of the Remedy Connected Universe have existed for more than a decade, its official existence was not confirmed until August 7, 2020. *Control*'s expansion *AWE* was the first formal crossover event in the Remedy Extended Universe, connecting the video games *Control* and *Alan Wake*.

The Remedy Connected Universe is known to include the *Alan Wake* franchise and *Control*. The official status of Remedy Entertainment's other games *Death Rally*, *CrossFire*, and *Max Payne* within this universe is not yet known, although *Quantum Break* is officially not in it due to IP ownership issues.

## History

Connections between video games by Remedy Entertainment have existed for more than ten years. The most prominent connections began with 2010's *Alan Wake*, which featured significant references to the *Max Payne* games released in the early 2000s. *Alan Wake* and its larger universe also included some of the very earliest references to *Control*, including mention of Ordinary, the Federal Bureau of Control, and Altered World Events. Several characters mentioned or appearing in *Control* were first alluded to in *Alan Wake*.

*Control*, released in 2019, contained many references to *Alan Wake*. In August 2020, the trailer for *Control's* second DLC, *AWE*, was released, featuring Alan Wake and the Dark Presence from *Alan Wake*. Shortly thereafter, Sam Lake, the creative director of Remedy Entertainment, confirmed the existence of the Remedy Connected Universe in an article and also that *AWE* was the first crossover event in this shared universe.

Lake also confirmed that *Alan Wake 2*, the sequel to *Alan Wake* which released in October 2023, also exists in the RCU. *Alan Wake 2* followed up on a number of details which were first shown in *AWE*, such as the existence of the Lake House, while the FBC as a whole plays a major role in the game's story. Two major characters from *Control*, Jesse Faden and Casper Darling, both make appearances in *Alan Wake 2*, and it is likely that at least one of the game's upcoming DLC expansions will feature the FBC in some way.

## Games

### *Control*

*Control* is one of the most significant entries in the Remedy Connected Universe, due to contextualizing the events of *Alan Wake* within a larger universe with established rules, metaphysics, and larger organizations. Unlike *Alan Wake*, which was mainly a self-contained story, *Control* focused on broad global Altered World Events, developing the supernatural aspect of the Remedy Connected Universe as a whole. *Alan Wake* was established as being merely one instance of these AWEs on a smaller scale, in Bright Falls.

### *Alan Wake*

*Alan Wake* has been established as taking place within the larger universe of *Control*. While *Alan Wake* left many of its larger mysteries unanswered, *Control* provides context and answers for many of these mysteries by establishing the nature of what occurred in Bright Falls. Alan Wake is a character in *Control* and has a prominent role in *AWE*.

### *Max Payne*

While the status of *Max Payne* in the Remedy Connected Universe is unclear, the *Alex Casey* series of novels written by Alan Wake appear to have multiple plot similarities to the *Max Payne* games.

### Release Schedule

Remedy's next RCU titles after the DLC expansions for *Alan Wake II* are likely to be a multiplayer PvE game set in the Oldest House codenamed **Condor** and **Control 2**. Other upcoming games that may or may not tie in are the **Max Payne 1+2 Remake** and a live-service multiplayer PvE game codenamed **Vanguard**. Remedy has also filed a trademark for a game called **FBC: Firebreak**, though as of yet little is known about this project and/or whether it is an official name for a previously-mentioned project such as Condor.

## Other media

### *This House of Dreams*

*This House of Dreams* is a blog which was published throughout 2012, confirmed later that year by Sam Lake and Remedy Entertainment to be connected to *Alan Wake*. It details strange occurrences in the life of a woman named Samantha after she moves to Ordinary, Maine, with mentions to the poetry of Thomas Zane, other events from *Alan Wake*, and a mysterious shoebox.

* *Control* directly mentions these events on a whiteboard in Central Research, which gives the blog author's full name as Samantha Wells and further indicates that the FBC was alerted by her blog's contents and took the shoebox from her house, though they later lost it and it ended up back in Wells' hands.
* Interestingly, in *This House of Dreams*, Samantha mentions being visited by a federal agent from the "AWE" rather than the FBC as would be indicated in *Control*.

## Notes

*Quantum Break* contains numerous references to Remedy Connected Universe entries, and is also seemingly referenced in *Control*. However, the *Quantum Break* IP is owned by Microsoft rather than Remedy, so whether or not these references are indicative of a deeper connection cannot be officially confirmed.

* Graffiti reading "AWE" can be found throughout *Quantum Break*.
* The television show *Night Springs* is present in *Quantum Break*.
* The live-action teaser trailer "Alan Wake's Return" in *Quantum Break* depicts FBI agents Saga Anderson and Alex Casey, who are central characters in *Alan Wake 2*.
* The Old Gods of Asgard are referenced in various occasions throughout *Quantum Break*, such as through a band named Stonecrow supposedly performing in tribute of the Old Gods.
	+ \* During a slow-motion section, an office admin can be heard singing "Children of the Elder God."
* In *Quantum Break*, a lecture hall blackboard makes various references to the story of Alan Wake (both the character and the franchise) seemingly in the style of a literary analysis, drawing parallels to the hero's journey and even bringing up "This House of Dreams."
	+ Separately, another character can be seen playing *Alan Wake* on a PC.
* Two copies of Alan Wake's novel *The Sudden Stop* can be found in *Quantum Break*, one of which is signed by Wake.
* During one of his rants in *AWE*, Frederick Langston mentions the band My Bleeding Clock, which was first mentioned in *Quantum Break*.

 Miscellaneous