In July 2018, Remedy CEO Telo Virtala stated that any further sequels to "Alan Wake" would require Microsoft Studios' approval as the publishing rights holder, though Remedy otherwise owns all other IP rights to the series. Virtala stated: "Considering our history... Alan Wake was really interesting but it was a collaboration with Microsoft. Due to certain reasons, it never got a sequel." Director of communications Thomas Puha stated in April 2019 that Remedy had briefly returned to work on an "Alan Wake" property about two years prior, but the effort did not work out, and the company is presently booked for the next few years, between their own new game "Control", supporting Smilegate on its game "CrossFire", and another new project. Puha said that the only limited factor for them to work on an "Alan Wake" sequel was "time, money, and resources".