Remedy has announced that Alan Wake will be removed from digital stores on May 15th due to some music license issues. As such, and while the team is looking into relicensing the music for Alan Wake, Remedy offers the entire Alan Wake franchise (including Alan Wake, all DLC, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare) with a 90% discount.
Alan Wake sale on @steam_games 90% discount starting 5/13. Game will be removed from stores after 5/15 due to expiring music licenses. pic.twitter.com/y10DPgY8Q0
— Remedy Entertainment (@remedygames) May 12, 2017
Even though the original Alan Wake will be removed from digital stores, Alan Wake’s American Nightmare will remain in stores as Remedy negotiated the music licensing for it.
Do note that those who already own Alan Wake will be able to download and play the game, even when the game is removed from digital stores like Steam.
John is the founder and Editor in Chief at DSOGaming. He is a PC gaming fan and highly supports the modding and indie communities. Before creating DSOGaming, John worked on numerous gaming websites. While he is a die-hard PC gamer, his gaming roots can be found on consoles. John loved – and still does – the 16-bit consoles, and considers SNES to be one of the best consoles. Still, the PC platform won him over consoles. That was mainly due to 3DFX and its iconic dedicated 3D accelerator graphics card, Voodoo 2. John has also written a higher degree thesis on the “The Evolution of PC graphics cards.”
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Get it while you can
After all these years? Will it re- appear after some talks with the music companies?
Amazing game really hope they sort out these licensing issues.
Does this happens with movies as well? It surely seems stupid to me, but short term profits rules i guess, so you want that trendy music in your game no matter what.
Why don’t they just update and remove the licensed music from the game?
Remedy Entertainment: “Its massively more complex than that.”
no thanks? so just remove the game for good? are you for real?
you can still play it if you have it – what’s the issue? The deal won’t get better than 90% off anyway
Sure, what about people in the future? 😛 1 year from now? Not everyone read the news either. People might feel like buying it in 2 weeks. Then what? GG? Yeah.
Remedy said they’re in talks to renew the licenses, but they don’t know when it’ll happen.
say i lose my steam account 10 years from now or something and i want to play this game again (im certain i will), itll feel stupid not to be able to just because of the music, which i dont really care for in this game. same if i want my younger cousins to play it in the future they just wont be able to
how is the game crippled if you remove the licensed music
i’m with you 100% if they are editing the games content, but the licensed music, come on!
and if its GTA and they remove some of the radio stations, who cares? Doesnt affect the gameplay in the least.
i have lots of friends who play the games with their own music already, who are you to tell them how to enjoy their game?
younger generations will just never be able to play this game just because of the music which to me its stupid
sounds like really bad programming to me.
GTA’s updates were a total hack job, that was the only issue there. They broke several features in an already very buggy game. If Remedy removed the music and touched nothing else, it’d be a benefit given the circumstances.
Was it a good game ? Never played it.
Yes, buy it.
Is American Nightmare a follow up or it has nothing to do with it ?
It’s basically a spinoff. I haven’t played it yet tbh, but heard good things.
American Nightmare is sequel. It was released to bridge the gap between Alan Wake and Alan Wake 2. It’s not as good as first game but it’s good fun for few hours. Basically it’s just there to set the stage for AW2.
AW2 set to release on pc ?
Stephen King’s Resident Payne: Innawoods Edition.
Get it if you like a creepy action shooter with good controls and lots of lumberjacks to shoot.
No, gameplay is bad but the music is good, was good.
I f*cking hate how licensing agreements work. GTA has run into these same issues, and we’ll probably never get a re-release of games like Star Trek Elite Forces or Soldier of Fortune (which based off of a magazine, mentioned all of 1 time in the game) due to this bullsh*t. Grab it while you still can at least.
Activision removes games from the digital store on a regular basis. Blur, Spider-Man Web of Shadows and more recently TMNT Mutants in Manhattan (I know this one is kind of a stinker, but still…), etc.
TMNT? they removed a game that hasn’t been out for a year?
Really? I didn’t knew. I only played and cared for Web of Shadows, quite some time ago and wanted the game in my Steam library. Guess the only way to play it is to get a physical copy for it or sing “Yo ho ho”.
Web swinging in that game was so awesome. And the combat was pretty solid too.
And thus once again piracy saves the day!
Also, GOG.
Huh this has nothing to do with piracy, and if its pulled from Steam it’ll be puiled from everywhere including GOG
“Do note that those who already own Alan Wake will be able to download
and play the game, even when the game is removed from digital stores
like Steam.”
Right from the very article we are commenting on. It’s not like it’s GWFL and the service disappears taking all your purchases with it.
With Steam you have always been able to play/download games in your library regardless if its for sale in the Steam store or not. Also Steam lets you archive your games as well.
GFWL has not disappeared. You can still download your purchased games and play multiplayer. Only the store has been shuttered so you can’t buy new games and DLC.
all my purchases from GFWL are gone, thankfullly I only bought Bulletstorm and and some SF4 DLC, but yup gone.
Doesn’t he mean that the game will exist even after it’s removed, thanks to piracy?
This way, even people who never owned Alan Wake will be able to play it.
Yea. And also the fact that GOG gives you set-up files.
It seems it ran over most peoples head though.
People who want to play the game after the removal can grab a retail copy off Amazon or Ebay if they really want. The ones who have to resort to piracy really don’t need a reason either way.
“Due to the licensing agreement, it would be illegal to sell it after the after. That’s why it’s being removed.”
— Great, in that case those who are interested should purchase it now instead of pirating it later. Simple really. Otherwise they’d have to look for sellers on Ebay.
“Seriously. People who speak against piracy are so pretentious. I know
developers who know their games are pirated and don’t care.”
— And I find people who defend piracy in the name of “art” and “preservation” a bit hypocritical because they completely disregard the rights of creators. As for the developers you mention, I’d love to know some of them… the ones to whom it makes no difference if their games get pirated or not just because they value “preservation” over making money from doing what they love..
“Great, in that case those who are interested should purchase it now instead of pirating it later. Simple really. Otherwise they’d have to look for sellers on Ebay.”
What if they only learn about this game in a few years? Sure, there’s always the eBay option, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll find it at a price that’s actually reasonable. Also limited quantities. Yeah, sure, DOOM was still available, so what? DOOM is extremely popular. Actually, it’s legendary. Alan Wake is… Alan Wake. It’s good, but it’s not LEGENDARY! which means available quantities will always be far less than those of DOOM, or Quake, or whatever.
“As for the developers you mention, I’d love to know some of them… the ones who claim “sure, pirate our games… we don’t care. We totally value preservation in the name of art for free over making money doing what we love!””
Notch. Minecraft.
“What if they only learn about this game in a few years?”
— What if the creator no longer wishes to sell the game in a few years? Should his rights not be respected?
” It’s good, but it’s not LEGENDARY!”
— If you’re in the market looking for an average game that’s neither popular nor no longer soled, then it’s expected you’re likely to pay more. It’s a supply and demand issue. Happens with all products.
“Notch. Minecraft.”
— I know what Notch said. He didn’t endorse piracy over buying the game. In fact he chose his words knowingly so that he might get a future paying customer. Which is very different from someone pirating a game no longer being sold.
“What if the creator no longer wishes to sell the game in a few years? Should his rights not be respected?”
If they no longer want to sell it officially anymore, then they have the right to no longer profit from it (directly, at least), if they don’t want to. Beyond that, it’s out there, & there’s nothing anyone can really do about it. It’s like when a book gets pulled from the shelves because the publishing contract expired or some such; you don’t send out letters to the people who already bought it asking for their copies back, you just get to destroy the unsold copies. Same thing with physical media.
Besides, Sony, Ninturdo, Microsoft, etc. don’t take action against Emulators for older consoles, why? Simple; they don’t give a f*ck, anymore. Nobody does. Not the publisher, not the studio, not the IP owner, nobody. At best, if they do, they’ll try to sell you a remaster. Beyond that, nobody cares.
“If you’re in the market looking for an average game that’s neither popular nor no longer sold, then it’s expected you’re likely to pay more. It’s a supply and demand issue. Happens with all products including digital ones.”
Depends entirely on the person, & how much they’re interested in the item in question. I like various niche older titles, for example, & I’d love to have physical copies of a few of them, but that doesn’t mean I’d pay $2000 for most of them (random example). There’s always a falloff point in this, with everyone. Well, minus the rich nutjobs with too much to spend, but yeah, they by definition have too much to spend.
P.S. I’m getting to the rest (& the big one, too), just been busy this week, & I keep forgetting…….. ^^
“If they no longer want to sell it officially anymore, then they have the
right to no longer profit from it (directly, at least), if they don’t
want to.”
— And the consumer doesn’t have the right to acquire aforementioned product illegally either if it’s no longer being sold.
“you don’t send out letters to the people who already bought it asking for their copies back”
— No you don’t. That’s why those who have bought the game already get to keep it. This issue specifically talks about piracy, not legitimate purchases.
“Besides, Sony, Ninturdo, Microsoft, etc. don’t take action against
Emulators for older consoles, why? Simple; they don’t give a f*ck,
anymore.”
— That’s entirely incorrect. They don’t take action because emulation is not illegal. Using emulators to play pirated games however, is another matter.
“Depends entirely on the person, & how much they’re interested in the item in question.”
— Nothing to do with the person but the product. The product has a set price… the customer can either choose to acquire it by paying the price that is asked for or ignoring the product entirely, simple.
” I like various niche older titles, for example, & I’d love to have
physical copies of a few of them, but that doesn’t mean I’d pay $2000 for most of them (random example).”
— Yes, that also means you would not raid a warehouse in the middle of the night in order to nab a physical copy. You are forced to ignore the product because you don’t have the money. The same goes for digital goods.
” Well, minus the rich nutjobs with too much to spend, but yeah, they by definition have too much to spend.”
— Video games, like any other form of “entertainment” is a luxury, not a necessity. The terms of the price and target audience can only be set by the creator, not consumer.
” can grab a retail copy off Amazon or Ebay”
Because those copies are infinite right?
Even the original Doom was available in limited quantities before it was made available on Steam and that game is much more popular than Alan Wake. The concept of “limited quantity” has always existed. Digital distribution minimizes the problem but doesn’t eliminate it entirely.
Any game you own on Steam that gets pulled from the store, you obviously keep in your library. It doesn’t disappear or anything.
Indeed. If only the likes of Apple and Sony did the same for their own respective digital stores.
Except this sort of “preservation” is neither ethical nor legal because the game hasn’t been considered abandonware.
“The legality of it is debatable, because Piracy isn’t illegal in every country.”
— In which countries is piracy legal? At most it is considered a gray area. But even then proper copyright laws apply.
“And ethetically, you could say that music licensing is wrong, in the
form it is delivered, as they provide a negative exception for games on how music licensing works.”
— Music licensing is not delivered, but licensing rights are granted. The duration depends on the holder of the rights.
“And thirdly. I honestly couldn’t care less. Piracy is good, not bad.
Because as for reasons I’ve explained, even if something isn’t entirely abandoned, without Piracy we would not have many great things still”
— If you couldn’t care less then there’s no point in further discussion about supposed “ethics”, so let’s be very clear about that. Good and bad is subjective so I don’t want to go into that either. What I do understand is that the creator’s rights need to be respected. And people who leech off free sh*t do not exhibit that sort of respect.
“And to say we can’t have the option to experience that for literally pennies, is not only deplorable, it’s greedy.”
— What pennies? You’re not paying a cent for the game if you’re pirating it.
“Nevertheless, Switzerland, Spain, Mexico, Canada and Netherlands, whilst
state it’s illegal on paper, don’t ever really enforce the law unless
another country forces them to. Just for a few examples.”
— Illegal on paper is illegal by law. And according to you piracy is fair game just because it’s not enforced in these countries? I mean hey, it can’t be bad coz I’m not getting caught, right?
“That’s literally what I said, in different words. From the context was this not clear?”
— No it wasn’t.
“If they can no longer sell the game, then it literally doesn’t matter
about their wishes, they have no room or reason to care any longer, that’s why they become freeware or abandonware”
— Alan Wake is neither freeware nor abandonware, which is exactly what I said right at the beginning of this discussion.
“. I’ve pirated plenty of games before, only to buy them on Steam to
support the developer because they support the option to pirate, and don’t actively seek vengeance on Pirates for no reason.”
— Still waiting for you to mention those devs who support piracy of their games. Also I’m being led to believe that you’re mistaking willful nonchalance regarding combating piracy on the developer’s part as a tacit endorsement for piracy itself.
“Really, could you honestly not understand what I was refering to given the subject matter? The pennies, are referring to the licenses music, the pennies go to the owners of said music. It is because of said music that the game will no longer be sold”
— Music is a different form of entertainment from video games. Let’s not mix the two up. The piracy of music and the piracy of video games are different altogether. Music has different income sources such as licensing and stage performances. Video games don’t. Not all art forms are the same.
” You really seem to have trouble reading what I’m saying, I would let that blame lie on myself, but I shall not be so kind. It is your issue if you misunderstand or misread what I say.”
— Indeed, it would help if you got to the point directly instead of meandering around things. I’m least interested in your opinions on the music industry and your attempts to equate it to the video games industry.
” If a law isn’t enforced, and is actively ignored both by law enforcement AND citizens. Then no one cares, on a legal and moral level. No one shares your perspective in this case, meaning, by far majority, you’re wrong, as a matter of fact.”
— Ah, by that logic if we were to extrapolate would something like murder be alright on a moral level if laws against it weren’t enforced?
“Learn to read then, or get glasses in case you’re blind.”
— Alternatively you could learn to get to the point. Saves the hassle.
“When it’s no longer sold, it practically is. Get over it.”
— No it isn’t. You should probably get over your cluelessness instead. Wikipedia can help regarding that. I suggest reading the articles of both “freeware” and ‘abandonware” thoroughly before responding with such ignorance.
“I literally already told you in another reply to another of your comments. But you conveniently missed that part I’m sure, an honest mistake on your part.”
— Please quote that part where you mentioned the developers who are completely okay with piracy and support it willingly.
“Just to name a few, Cliff Harris, an Indie dev. Denaton Games. And Valve”
— May I see a source where either Cliff Harris or Valve have said that they have no problems with piracy and are a-okay with people pirating their games?
” I was saying that because of how Music Licensing is handled, this franchise will eventually become abandone or freeware.”
— Ah, my bad. It’s pretty hard to get to the grain of the matter after sorting through the chaff. Either way, the phrase “will eventually become” is not the same as “has already become”. Pretty big difference there.
“they will effectively be the cause of the prohibition of a product.”
— It makes no difference to the people licensing the music whether Alan Wake sells anymore or not. They wouldn’t be getting any money from it either way unless Remedy (the developer) strikes another licensing deal with them. Hence these are separate industries as I was indicating.
“Therefore, ACTIVELY, decreasing the chances of someone purchasing the game than PIRACY ever could. Seriously, learn to read.”
— This is not about decreasing chances. This is about getting sh*t for free. Learn to read.
“It was not a comparison, it was an explanation of how and why copyright is actively ruining the experience for every those willing to pay for products.”
— Copyright belongs to the creators. And the creators have a bigger say in their own creations rather than the consumers. Consumers have no right whatsoever in overriding the terms of copyright set by the creators. If the creator does not want to sell, the consumers have no say in the matter.
“If your entire argument is that you think it’s morally and legally wrong, then you’re a massive tool. So your opinions are ill-founded and willfully biased and ignorant.”
— Ah yes, ad hominem. The weapon of the intellectually deficient.
“Your faux-morals and bigoted beliefs are honestly unfounded, and your behavior is deplorable to say the least.”
— Did something I say hurt your feelings? I’m really sorry (oh yes I am)… I simply cannot empathize with your need to acquire free stuff.
What they are doing is not ethical either but sure is legal and the law is not ethical nor right or wrong, its the law, designed to protect the rich and powerfull.
Legal… how so? As for the law it’s the law as you said. I don’t know about rich and powerful, but what I do know is that the rights of creators should be respected.
And, what, you think “the rights of creators” are being respected? Creators get sh*t on every time a CD is sold, & they make d*ck off of licenses & such assorted sh*t. Musicians make the bulk of their income from live concerts, etc. where the industry label isn’t ready & waiting to take an overwhelming majority’s share of the profits.
There’s also endless stories of actors getting f*cked out of money on some of THE most profitable movies in history. Darth Vader’s actor, for example (the bloke in the actual suit, not the voice actor) got shafted on I think it was Return of the Jedi for decades on end by LucasFilm in an entirely legal manner. Lucas also shafted Alec Guinness out of a share of the profits he was owed from A New Hope, also in a technically legal manner, because he could.
Developers make less than 50% of the profit pie on each video game sale, assuming they’re not owned by a publishing company that just takes all their money, instead, but no, yeah, that’s legal too, & it’s all about [protecting] the creators! Yeap!
Do you know why copyright law is Life + 50 years, right now? Do you know why it’s even been extended to Life + 70 years in some countries? Because of Mickey Mouse. No, seriously; Walt Disney Corp. has been bribing world governments to extend copyright for DECADES now, in order to retain control of Mickey. F*cking. Mouse. And these days, they’re not alone either, since Superman would have passed into public domain decades ago as well, right alongside Batman, & oh! The Diaries of Anne Frank, which, in a completely legal manner, just recently obtained a new writer in order to extend its copyright!
The creator of Lord of the Rings died over 50 years ago, but that hasn’t stopped his legacy from being defiled by his descendants, has it?
“And, what, you think “the rights of creators” are being respected?
Creators get sh*t on every time a CD is sold, & they make d*ck off
of licenses & such assorted sh*t. Musicians make the bulk of their
income from live concerts, etc. where the industry label isn’t ready
& waiting to take an overwhelming majority’s share of the profits.”
— That still doesn’t make you (the consumer) the owner of the music. Simple as that. And besides, we are talking about the game here. The licensed music is secondary.
“There’s also endless stories of actors getting f*cked out of money”
— I’m not too familiar with the happenings in the movie industry so I’ll refrain from stating an opinion there.
“Developers make less than 50% of the profit pie on each video game sale”
— May I know where you got that bit of info from? Furthermore, the publishers (if involved) do provide the financing so obviously they expect to be paid. If they hadn’t financed the game (again, if involved) the game wouldn’t have happened.
“The creator of Lord of the Rings died over 50 years ago, but that hasn’t stopped his legacy from being defiled by his descendants, has it?”
— Tell me more on this… I’m not too familiar with LOTR either or its legacy (maybe except Shadow of Mordor, if you can count that) .
“because the game hasn’t been considered abandonware.”
It is literally about to be pulled from market, if that’s not the definition of “abandonware” I don’t know what is.
Sure, there’s a chance that it’ll eventually return (a high chance, even), but until that day occurs, it’s officially, for all intents & purposes, abandonware – period.
“It is literally about to be pulled from market, if that’s not the definition of “abandonware” I don’t know what is.”
— That’s not abandonware. You’d might want to check the article on Wikipedia.
“Sure, there’s a chance that it’ll eventually return (a high chance,
even), but until that day occurs, it’s officially, for all intents &
purposes, abandonware – period.”
— Nope.
This feeds into the other one, so read the other one first;
Sure, from a legal standpoint, it’s still under copyright, but from a realistic standpoint, it’s like with new-gen consoles; once the new console launches, it’s like the unofficial NDA on discussing emulators publicly gets lifted. Didn’t you notice it a few years ago, with the launch of the PS4 & the XONE how suddenly people were more openly discussing emulating the PS3 & the X360? Especially after Sony & Microsoft decided to discontinue their old consoles, respectively.
Well, same basic concept. The PS3 & X360 games are still technically under copyright, sure, but since so few of them are still being sold officially & Sony + Microsoft both are no longer manufacturing & selling their consoles, they’re basically overall classified as “abandonware”, even though they’re legally not.
Sure, in this case, Alan Wake will actually make a return (eventually, hopefully), but my point being, the legal definition of abandonware doesn’t always quite stand up to the actual version of events in the world.
“Sure, from a legal standpoint, it’s still under copyright, but from a
realistic standpoint, it’s like with new-gen consoles; once the new
console launches, it’s like the unofficial NDA on discussing emulators
publicly gets lifted.”
— It’s nothing like consoles or whatever because there is no NDA involved with copyright. Also it’s a clear-cut situation… the game is under copyright and hence is not abandonware. So the whole “theoretical/realistic” argument does not even come into the picture because the legalities do not provide any leeway for speculation.
“Didn’t you notice it a few years ago, with the launch of the PS4 &
the XONE how suddenly people were more openly discussing emulating the PS3 & the X360?”
— I really don’t understand why you keep bringing in emulation. Emulation is perfectly legal whereas copyright infringement is absolutely not. They are too different to be comparable.
“Well, same basic concept.”
— No, for the reason mentioned above.
“but my point being, the legal definition of abandonware doesn’t always quite stand up to the actual version of events in the world.”
— According to whom… the pirates? They don’t care either way because they just want the game for free. The law however is very clear in this regard. And so are the creators.
you are pathetic kid
And you’re somehow not, apparently?
Oh, wait, my bad, you are.
You could just buy it like a decent human being and have it forever you know. You don’t HAVE to be thieving scum. It’s a personal choice only backed up my shallow non-arguments.
I can’t lie, piracy has it’s place (retro games and vaporware that you simply cannot buy anymore), but here is not that situation.
U just implied me to be a thieving scum… .. . Nice.
It’s not about me or the people right now. It’s about the future. U yourself just stated piracy has it’s place when the game is no longer available to purchase. We can buy it right now because we knew about the game before hand and we can buy it before it possibly expires forever. What about the people after that, the people who will hear of a game called Alan Wake when they search for games similar to RE or somesht? What about them? How are they supposed to get it?
As a person whose entire personality was derived from playing games I see games as art before anything else. And I want my future children to experience them and my children’s children to appreciate them.
The point is it wasn’t about us. It about them, the people who cannot get it right now. ANd for the us of tomorrow which is filled with uncertainty.
he can, but not everyone can. Thats the point to maintain those games. At this point Alan Wake will also be retro, till then, you wont be able to buy it online.
Well, if you can’t buy it anymore…it’s kinda that situation.
I don’t think it affects the chances to see a second Alan Wake; it’s mostly because of a license agreement. Alan Wake has songs of David Bowie, Depeche Mode and Poets of the Fall. It’s been on sale since 2010, perhaps the devs thought seven years of sales would be enough.
I agree we’re not seeing Alan Wake 2 anytime soon though :/
Hate when that happens, gta san andreas and vice city are a shadow of their former self will the removed songs and that will probably happens to gta 4 and gta 5 i hate how licensing works nowaday.
why dont games license music like movies do? i never see dvds pulled from shelves because they were too stupid to properly license a track.
Can’t they just put out a campaign for people that would like to donate their own composed music to the game and replace the copyrighted material with non-problematic one?