Many people reacted with horror when it was confirmed in February that former EA executive Jean-Charles Gaudechon would be taking over as the new head of Remedy. The Finnish powerhouse is known for its highly creative titles with unique storylines and for daring to take risks, qualities that relatively few would use to describe EA.
Now he shares more about his perspective on his role in an interview with The Game Business, offering reassuring words to anyone who's been worried:
"I completely understand the fear of, 'is he going to bring methods that work for a massive company and crush the soul of a studio like Remedy?'
"But I think I got chosen because I know exactly what Remedy is. And what needs to be protected, needs to be supported and needs to be grown. Remedy is one-of-a-kind. It's a studio that has amazing creative drive. It's a studio that also has been messy here or there, and that's the beauty of the type of games that were made and how. What I hope I can bring to Remedy is vision on where the company could go and where we could make some improvements."
He concludes by reassuringly saying: "Who am I to change the DNA of a 30-year successful game studio?"
This suggests that we might see a slightly more focused Remedy moving forward, one capable of weeding out the most questionable ideas early on to avoid flops like FBC: Firebreak. However, he says this doesn't mean the studio will produce more conventional products, and he even cites examples of game series he believes should sell better:
"Remedy is already one of the biggest game authors, with very strong signature products. Now after seeing it from the inside, there's so much more we can give in terms of super strong authored, creative, crazy stories and gameplay. Honestly, we haven't achieved half of the potential in terms of the products that we make.
"But as franchises Control, Alan Wake, etcetera, could give a lot more. There's a vision on thinking bigger for some of these IPs, which need to find its audience much, much further than the current audience. It's super exciting."
Later this year, Remedy will release Control: Resonant, and hopefully, remakes of the first two Max Payne games will follow.