Remedy cancels its multiplayer game project with Tencent
The companies have been working on it for years and had repurposed it last year.
Tencent and Remedy, the developer of Control and Alan Wake, have completely scrapped their joint gaming project codenamed Kestrel, which they have been working on since 2021. The companies were originally developing a free-to-play co-op shooter until they decided to go in a different direction in November last year. They went back to the drawing board, renamed their project from Vanguard to Kestrel and had planned to make a "premium game with a strong, cooperative multiplayer component" instead. Back then, they said their game will "lean more into Remedy's core strengths" and will use repurposed versions of the company's assets and themes. Clearly, though, their partnership wasn't meant to be.
In its announcement, Remedy said that the project's cancellation will allow it to give more attention to its other games in development. While it didn't list them out, the company is working on the sequel to Control that will be released for the PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC, as well as on a franchise spin-off game currently known as Condor. It will reassign developers to its other game projects, and since it was going to co-finance Kestrel with Tencent, the project's cancellation means reduced investment and recruitment needs for the company.
Codename Kestrel was still in its early concept phase, Remedy's CEO Tero Virtala said in a statement, while the company's other projects have already "advanced well" and are moving on to the next stages in their development. "This is yet another means to ensure that our game projects continue advancing well," Virtala added.
