Alan Wake’s Sam Lake made the Variety500 List
Variety500 List, released annually since 2013, recognizes and acknowledges 500 influential leaders within global media industries. Remedy Entertainment Creative Director Sam Lake was among those honored this year, being recognised for their achievements with Alan Wake 2 being released last December and lending himself as Alex Casey from Remedy’s game Alan Wake 2. You may not recognize Sam by name but you probably do know what his contributions have been like through Alan Wake 2.
Remedy shared on their X (formerly Twitter) page that Lake is the sole Finnish individual included on this prestigious list and one of only six game developers to get acknowledged by Variety magazine for her contribution to Alan Wake survival horror franchise – winning multiple awards including Game Direction, Narrative, and Art Direction at December Game Awards ceremony. No surprise though as Lake has received rave reviews since Alan Wake release!
Sam Lake wasn’t only responsible for overseeing Alan Wake 2 creative direction – he also played FBI Agent Alex Casey himself! This unique approach gave Alan Wake 2 its signature twist as Alex Casey may share similar attributes and connections to characters within novels written by author Alan Wake himself.
Remedy Studios from Finland stands out among big game producers due to Sam Lake’s masterful storytelling ability. Alan Wake 2, published by Epic Games and released in October 2023 has resonated strongly within the survival horror genre and continues to engage players today with its riveting story and gripping gameplay – as evidenced by its achievements at The Game Awards this past March.
Sam Lake’s inclusion on the Variety500 list serves as evidence of his significant contributions to gaming industry, with Alan Wake 2 success attributable in large part to his creative storytelling and vision expertise – along with eight Game Awards nominations and winning the Best Art Direction category as testaments of that. His inclusion also acknowledges Sam’s significant impactful vision which helped control, Remedy’s previous hit title where Lake earned eight nominations before winning outright the award in this category at Best Art Direction category!
Variety500 recognizes influential individuals for their achievements over the last year. By including game developers on this prestigious list, gaming becomes even more prominent within entertainment as an avenue of storytelling and entertainment. Sam Lake’s inclusion emphasizes this point.
