History Creator / RemedyEntertainment

In 2005, Remedy partnered with [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] to publish ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' in 2010, its GaidenGame follow-up ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' in 2012, and later ''VideoGame/QuantumBreak'' in 2016, the latter of which was the largest production in the history of the Finnish video game industry at the time. During the development of ''Quantum Break'', the CEO of Remedy, Matias Myllyrinne, departed from the company and was replaced with Tero Virtala, who would help Remedy transition into a multi-project studio and work on multiple projects at once. In 2017, Remedy went public on the Nordic stock exchange and later announced the formation of a new team and that they're working on two projects, the first being a partnership with Smilegate on the single-player component of ''VideoGame/CrossfireX'', and the second being published by 505 Games, which was revealed at [=E3=] 2018 to be ''VideoGame/{{Control}}''. Shortly before ''Control'''s release in August 2019, Remedy acquired the publishing rights to the ''Alan Wake'' IP from Microsoft and partnered with Creator/EpicGames to release a remaster of the first game on all major platforms in 2021, and paved the way for a proper sequel, 2023's ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'', which would turn out to be one of the most expensive cultural products ever in the history of Finland.

** ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'': Lake famously lent his likeness to the titular character in the first game, due to a lack of funds to hire actual actors for the cast. Although Max's model was recast in later entries in the series with professional actors so that Lake could focus on writing, many fans to this day consider him ''the'' definitive face of Max Payne.

* IcyBlueEyes: The majority of their main protagonists (''Max Payne'' as played by [[CreatorCameo Sam Lake]], [[Creator/IlkkaVilli Alan Wake]], [[Creator/ShawnAshmore Jack Joyce]] and [[Creator/CourtneyHope Jesse Faden]]) share this trait.
* InkSuitActor: As far back as the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' game, Remedy has modeled the majority of characters in its games directly off of actual people's likenesses rather than designing them from scratch, which was not a common practice for video games back in the late nineties. In later games, this practice even extends to background [=NPCs=] and allows developers to include the likenesses of their family and friends in the games. For major characters, Remedy has sometimes gone so far as to [[https://www.youtube.com/shorts/45f971G5BE8 mold and scan actors' teeth]] into the game, so that even that part of them is accurate to life. This usage of digital doubles has the secondary effect of making it possible for them to utilize MediumBlending in the form of live-action footage and photographs, which started out as a cost-saving measure before gradually becoming part of Remedy's CreatorThumbprint. To quote Creator/ShawnAshmore on [[https://twitter.com/ShawnRAshmore/status/1776378029935390887 Twitter]]:

* ParentalAbandonment: Every Remedy protagonist thus far has come from a broken family, with both parents absent and/or dead prior to the start of the story. According to the comics, Max Payne's father was abusive and then he was orphaned by age fourteen, in addition to him losing his wife and infant daughter at the start of his story. Alan Wake never knew his father and was raised by a single mother who was in and out of mental institutions throughout his childhood. Jack Joyce was orphaned in a car accident and became estranged from his brother, his only surviving family, shortly thereafter. Jesse Faden was orphaned in a paranatural disaster and her brother was taken by the FBC. Saga Anderson never knew her father and her mother estranged herself from her own family, and then passed sometime prior to the start of the game.
* ProductionPosse: Throughout the years and across Remedy's numerous franchises, a group of actors now make regular appearances in most of the Remedy games, to the point that Sam Lake sometimes creates characters with specific actors in mind.

* InkSuitActor: As far back as the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' game, Remedy has modeled the majority of characters in its games directly off of actual people's likenesses rather than designing them from scratch, which was not a common practice for video games back in the late nineties. In later games, this practice even extends to background [=NPCs=] and allows developers to include the likenesses of their family and friends in the games. This usage of digital doubles has the secondary effect of making it possible for them to utilize MediumBlending in the form of live-action footage and photographs, which started out as a cost-saving measure before gradually becoming part of Remedy's CreatorThumbprint. To quote Creator/ShawnAshmore on [[https://twitter.com/ShawnRAshmore/status/1776378029935390887 Twitter]]:

* ProductionPosse: Throughout the years and across Remedy's numerous franchises, a group of actors now make regular appearances in most of the Remedy games, including:
** Before his passing in December 2023, Creator/JamesMcCaffrey was the voice of ''VideoGame/MaxPayne'' as well as his SelfParody Alex Casey and poet Thomas Zane in ''VideoGame/AlanWake''. He also voiced Zachariah Trench in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}''.
** Creator/MatthewPorretta is the voice of ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' in all of Wake's appearances, as well as Mr. Scratch in ''VideoGame/AlanWakesAmericanNightmare'', and Dr. Casper Darling in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}''.
** Creator/IlkkaVilli is the MotionCapture and likeness for Alan Wake in all of his appearances as well as Alan's doppelganger Mr. Scratch in ''VideoGame/AlanWakesAmericanNightmare'', and he also portrays Thomas Zane in both face and voice in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' and ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII''.
** Music/PoetsOfTheFall, who regularly make music for Remedy games, have played both FakeBand Old Gods of Asgard, and/or as [[AsHimself themselves]] in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2'', the ''Alan Wake'' games, and ''VideoGame/{{Control}}''. Vocalist Marko Saaresto, a childhood friend of Sam Lake's, also modeled for Vladimir Lem in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' and for the Shrink in ''Address Unknown'' in ''VideoGame/MaxPayne2''.

Remedy Entertainment is a VideoGame developing company based in Espoo, UsefulNotes/{{Finland}}. Remedy was founded in 1995 by demoscene members from groups such as Future Crew, and it is one of Finland's oldest operating video game studios. The studio is known for its cinematic, heavily story-driven games, fast-paced action gameplay, pushing the boundaries of computer graphics, mind-bending narratives with film, TV, and literary influences, and MediumBlending, particularly {{Live Action Cutscene}}s.

In 2005, Remedy partnered with [[Creator/XboxGameStudios Microsoft]] to publish ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' in 2010, its GaidenGame follow-up ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' in 2012, and later ''VideoGame/QuantumBreak'', the latter of which was the largest production in the history of the Finnish video game industry at the time. During the development of ''Quantum Break'', the CEO of Remedy, Matias Myllyrinne, departed from the company and was replaced with Tero Virtala, who would help Remedy transition into a multi-project studio and work on multiple projects at once. In 2017, Remedy went public and later announced the formation of a new team and that they're working on two projects, the first being a partnership with Smilegate on the single-player component of ''VideoGame/CrossfireX'', and the second being published by 505 Games, which was revealed at [=E3=] 2018 to be ''VideoGame/{{Control}}''. Shortly before ''Control'''s release in August 2019, Remedy acquired the publishing rights to the ''Alan Wake'' IP from Microsoft and partnered with Creator/EpicGames to release a remaster of the first game on all major platforms, and paving the way for a proper sequel, ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'', which would turn out to be one of the most expensive cultural products ever in the history of Finland.

* InkSuitActor: As far back as the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' game, Remedy has modeled the majority of characters in its games directly off of actual people's likenesses rather than designing them from scratch, which was not a common practice for video games back in the late nineties. In later games, this practice even extends to nameless [=NPCs=] and allows developers to include the likenesses of their family and friends in the games. This has the secondary effect of making it possible for them to utilize MediumBlending in the form of live-action footage and photographs, which started out as a cost-saving measure before gradually becoming part of Remedy's CreatorThumbprint. To quote Creator/ShawnAshmore on [[https://twitter.com/ShawnRAshmore/status/1776378029935390887 Twitter]]:

* LocalReference: The studio loves sneaking in references to their home country of Finland, with the reoccurring town of Watery being made up of Finnish immigrants, to oddball Finnish janitor Ahti, who either shares his name with the Finnish pagan god of water or ''is'' the Finnish water god, making a cameo no matter how implausible. ''Alan Wake II'' contains the most references yet as the player is finally able to visit Watery, which features a sauna, lots of Finnish-language signage, the Kalevala Knights motorcycle club, the Koskela brothers with their KitschyLocalCommercial about "the Finnish way" to drink Ahma Beer, and a little Finnish flair in the Coffee World amusement park (also run by the Koskelas), which sells toy puukkos (a traditional Finnish knife). Many save points in ''[=AW2=]'' also have a plate of Karelian pies, open-faced savory pies with a rye crust, alongside the coffee thermos used to save the game, which is also a reference as Finland consumes the most coffee per capita in the world.

* InkSuitActor: As far back as the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' game, Remedy has modeled the majority of characters in its games directly off of actual people's likenesses rather than designing them from scratch, which was not a common practice for video games back in the late nineties. In later games, this practice even extends to nameless [=NPCs=] This has the secondary effect of making it possible for them to utilize MediumBlending in the form of live-action footage and photographs, which started out as a cost-saving measure before gradually becoming part of Remedy's CreatorThumbprint. To quote Creator/ShawnAshmore on [[https://twitter.com/ShawnRAshmore/status/1776378029935390887 Twitter]]:

In 2005, Remedy partnered with Microsoft to publish ''VideoGame/AlanWake'' in 2010, its GaidenGame follow-up ''Alan Wake's American Nightmare'' in 2012, and later ''VideoGame/QuantumBreak'', the latter of which was the largest production in the history of the Finnish video game industry at the time. During the development of ''Quantum Break'', the CEO of Remedy, Matias Myllyrinne, departed from the company and was replaced with Tero Virtala, who would help Remedy transition into a multi-project studio and work on multiple projects at once. In 2017, Remedy went public and later announced the formation of a new team and that they're working on two projects, the first being a partnership with Smilegate on the single-player component of ''VideoGame/CrossfireX'', and the second being published by 505 Games, which was revealed at [=E3=] 2018 to be ''VideoGame/{{Control}}''. Shortly before ''Control'''s release in August 2019, Remedy acquired the publishing rights to the ''Alan Wake'' IP from Microsoft, allowing them to release a remaster of the first game on all major platforms and paving the way for a proper sequel, ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'', which would turn out to be one of the most expensive cultural products ever in the history of Finland.

* ''Max Payne 1 + 2 Remake'' (TBA) [[note]]In collaboration with [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]][[/note]]: A full remake of the first two ''Max Payne'' games that is planned to combine both games' storylines into a single continuous experience.
* ''Project Condor'' (TBA): A multiplayer GaidenGame set in the world of Control.

* ''Kestrel'' (also known as Vanguard): A live-service co-op game and new IP that was to be co-published with Tencent.

Remedy is close friends with fellow Finnish game developer Creator/{{Housemarque}} and the two studios regularly compliment and praise each other's work on social media.

Remedy Entertainment is a VideoGame developing company based in Espoo, UsefulNotes/{{Finland}}. Remedy was founded in 1995 by demoscene members from groups such as Future Crew. The year after Remedy released its first game ''Death Rally'', a top-down perspective racing shooter published by Apogee (later Creator/ThreeDRealms) and distributed by GT Interactive Software. In 2001, Remedy released its second game ''Max Payne''. The game is best known for its film noir influences and popularizing bullet time in video games. Remedy sold all the rights to ''Max Payne'' in 2002 to Creator/TakeTwoInteractive for US$10 million and 969,932 shares of stock. The following year, a sequel to the franchise developed by Remedy and Rockstar Games was released. This would be Remedy's last ''Max Payne'' game, as Rockstar continued developing the franchise on its own.

Remedy would later work on ''Quantum Break'', which was announced during the Xbox One event on 21 May 2013. The game was released on April 5, 2016. During the development of ''Quantum Break'', the CEO of Remedy, Matias Myllyrinne, and Oskari Häkkinen, the head of franchise development, departed from the company. Remedy later announced the formation of a new team and that they're working on two projects. The first being a partnership with Smilegate on the single-player component of ''VideoGame/CrossfireX''. The second being published by 505 Games, which revealed at [=E3=] 2018 to be ''Control''.

* ''Max Payne 1 + 2 Remake'' (TBA) [[note]]In collaboration with [[Creator/TakeTwoInteractive Rockstar Games]][[/note]]
* ''Project Condor'' (TBA)
* ''Control 2'' (TBA)

* ''Kestrel'': A live-service co-op game that was to be co-published with Tencent.

* CreatorThumbprint: All of their original full-length games (beside ''Death Rally'') have been third-person shooters with {{Mind Screw}}y plots based around a semi-localized breakdown of reality where the protagonist wears a dark jacket (usually leather), comes from a broken family, and has some kind of powers which involves time. ''Control'' generally follows ''most'' of that, barring the time powers.
** Also, MediumBlending, [[LiveActionCutscene Live-Action Cutscenes]] and segments, with ''Alan Wake'' relegating them to in-game TV screens; ''American Nightmare'', ''Control'', and ''Alan Wake II'' adding full live-action cutscenes, and ''Quantum Break'' having a ''full-length companion drama series''.

** ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'': Lake famously lent his likeness to the titular character in the first game, due to a lack of funds to hire actual actors for the cast. Although Max's model was recast in later entries in the series so that Lake could focus on writing, many fans to this day consider him ''the'' definitive face of Max Payne.

*** Lake performs the most acting he's ever done yet as FBI Agent Alex Casey, whom he performed motion capture for and lent his likeness to, and also as "Aleksi Kesä" in the 20-minute Finnish-language "Yötön Yö" short film, where he acts in live-action, and in Finnish with his own voice.

* HeAlsoDid: Futuremark, the creators of the long-running 3DMark series of PC benchmarking tools, was spun off of Remedy all the way back in 1997, and the first release of 3DMark utilized an early version of the engine that Remedy would go on to use for the first ''Max Payne'' game.

* InkSuitActor: As far back as the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' game, Remedy has modeled the majority of characters in its games directly off of actual people's likenesses rather than designing them from scratch, which was not a common practice for video games back in the late nineties. This has the secondary effect of making it possible for them to utilize MediumBlending in the form of live-action footage and photographs, which started out as a cost-saving measure before gradually becoming part of Remedy's CreatorThumbprint. In newer games, live-action footage is used as a stylistic choice to give a deliberate feeling of uncanniness, especially where supernatural forces are involved. To quote Creator/ShawnAshmore on [[https://twitter.com/ShawnRAshmore/status/1776378029935390887 Twitter]]:

* ParentalAbandonment: Every Remedy protagonist thus far has come from a broken family, with both parents absent and/or dead prior to the start of the story. Max Payne's father was abusive and then he was orphaned by age fourteen, in addition to him losing his wife and infant daughter at the start of his story. Alan Wake was raised by a single mother who was in and out of mental institutions throughout his childhood. Jack Joyce was orphaned in a car accident and became estranged from his brother, his only surviving family, shortly thereafter. Jesse Faden was orphaned in a paranatural disaster and her brother was taken by the FBC. Saga Anderson never knew her father and her mother became estranged from her family, and then passed sometime prior to the start of the game.

%%** ''(Untitled multiplayer experience)'' -- ''Vanguard'' and ''Kestrel''

* ''Kestrel'' (TBA)

** ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'' -- "Project Big Fish"

* InkSuitActor: As far back as the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' game, Remedy has modeled the majority of characters in its games directly off of actual people's likenesses rather than designing them from scratch. This has the secondary effect of making it possible for them to utilize MediumBlending in the form of live-action footage and photographs, which started out as a cost-saving measure before gradually becoming part of Remedy's CreatorThumbprint. In newer games, live-action footage is used as a stylistic choice to give a deliberate feeling of uncanniness, especially where supernatural forces are involved. To quote Creator/ShawnAshmore on [[https://twitter.com/ShawnRAshmore/status/1776378029935390887 Twitter]]:

** Any time there's an opportunity to show a name, Remedy likes to mix in the names of their staff. For example, Senior Community Manager Vida Starčević appears on a memorial plaque in the Investigations Sector in the AWE DLC in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'', and reportedly, some of the names that appear on the plaque in Suomi Hall in ''VideoGame/AlanWakeII'' are "Finnicized" versions of Remedy staff names.

* InkSuitActor: As far back as the first ''VideoGame/MaxPayne1'' game, Remedy has modeled the majority of characters in its games directly off of actual people's likenesses rather than designing them from scratch. This has the secondary effect of making it possible for them to utilize MediumBlending in the form of live-action footage and photographs, which started out as a cost-saving measure before gradually becoming part of Remedy's SignatureStyle. To quote Creator/ShawnAshmore on [[https://twitter.com/ShawnRAshmore/status/1776378029935390887 Twitter]]:

* InkSuitActor: Ever since ''VideoGame/AlanWake'', the majority of Remedy characters have been directly modeled after their actors, most likely to make MediumBlending easier.
* LearntEnglishFromWatchingTelevision: In an interview, Creator/MatthewPorretta, impressed with the quality of the script for [[VideoGame/AlanWake this game]] made by a bunch of Finns for whom English is not their first language, asked the writers at Remedy how they got the dialogue to sound so natural and not stilted. They replied simply that they learned from American film and TV, which is shown in Finland with subtitles at most, and is almost never dubbed into their language outside of children's media.

*** Live-action cinematics director Anssi Määttä has a few vocal cameos as Tapio Annala, a quirky Watery resident who really likes the Koskelas' swan-shaped float at Deerfest.

* ParentalAbandonment: Every Remedy protagonist thus far has either come from or has a broken family. Max Payne's father was abusive and then he was orphaned by age fourteen, in addition to him losing his wife and infant daughter at the start of his story. Alan Wake was raised by a single mother who was in and out of mental institutions throughout his childhood. Jack Joyce is an orphan estranged from his brother, his only surviving family. Jesse Faden was orphaned and her twin brother was kidnapped shortly after. Saga Anderson never knew her father and her mother became estranged from her family.