Codename Kestrel, a premium cooperative multiplayer game that has been in development by a small team at Remedy Entertainment since November 2023, is being canceled so the developer can focus on its existing franchises, which include Control and Alan Wake. Remedy shared the news in a press release that it published this morning, explaining how the game—a reboot from an earlier project codenamed Vanguard—was still in an early concept stage and would have been co-financed and co-published with China’s Tencent.
Remedy CEO Tero Virtala said:
- “Codename Kestrel showed early promise, but the project was still in its early concept stage. Our other projects have advanced well and are moving to the next stages of development, and increasing focus on them provides us with benefits.”
- “We can reallocate talented Kestrel developers to these other game projects, and many of our support functions get additional focus on their operations. This is yet another means to ensure that our game projects continue advancing well. I want to thank our Kestrel development team.”
- “Though we decided to discontinue the project for wider Remedy benefits, our team has done good work and provided us with valuable learnings. I also want to thank Tencent for their partnership so far. They have been very professional and supportive.”
Remedy on why Codename Kestrel is no more:
The decision to cancel codename Kestrel allows Remedy to focus more on the other games in its portfolio. Other ongoing game development projects will get experienced developers reassigned from Kestrel. In addition, the planned investment needs for Kestrel are removed and Remedy’s overall recruitment needs are reduced.