"Alan Wake 2" was released today, and despite some misgivings about the PC version's strict system requirements (which were fortunately misplaced), it has been well received: the majority of early reviews have been positive. (Now that a new story of a struggling writer has opened, Remedy has given the world a hint of what it has in mind for future chapters.

The original "Alan Wake" had two DLC expansions, "The Signal" and "The Writer," and "Alan Wake 2" is no different: as Remedy's "Alan Wake 2" FAQ reveals, "Night Springs and The Lake House," two paid expansions that will "tell new stories and provide exciting gameplay within Alan Wake 2," respectively.

The first expansion, Night Springs, is about "visions and dreams. Fiction is written and realized. Fiction collapses and remains as words on a page," the FAQ states.

"Play as several familiar characters from the Alan Wake universe and experience the unexplainable in multiple self-contained episodes of Night Springs, a fictional television show set in the Alan Wake universe.

Night Springs debuted as a Twilight Zone-like TV show in the original Alan Wake and also appeared in Quantum Break, but clearly Remedy intends to take this concept even deeper in Alan Wake 2. According to the FAQ, "The Lake House is a mysterious facility located on the shores of the Cauldron Lakes, established by an independent government organization to conduct secret research. Explore the Lake House and embark on two separate adventures where the realities of Saga Anderson and Alan Wake collide once again."

I can't help but feel that "Lake House" somehow ties in with Remedy's dimension-hopping shooter "Control," which depicts a shadowy government agency conducting supernatural research from a base called "The Oldest House." This is fitting: the second extension of "Control," "AWE," is directly connected to the world of "Alan Wake.

In fact, it's all a shared world: what the studio calls the "Remedy Connected Universe," which they have been working on for over a decade. Event" that got out of hand and led to a crossover in "Control: AWE".

No release date was given for the expansion, but Remedy told IGN that Night Springs is currently slated for a late spring 2024 release, but that could change. Remedy's Alan Wake 2 FAQ also confirms that New Game+ mode and Photo mode will be available, but these dates have not yet been confirmed either.