Why Alan Wake 2 Isn’t On Steam

Alan Wake 2 is almost here, over 13 years after the original game left us hanging. It will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC via the Epic Games Store starting from late October. But isn’t there something missing there? If you’re wondering why Alan Wake 2 isn’t on Steam, I’ve got the answer.

Here’s Why You Can’t Buy Alan Wake 2 on Steam

Sometimes, games are an Epic Games Store exclusive because money has changed hands. Epic will have offered a publisher or developer a certain amount of cash to keep a game exclusive to the Epic Games Store for the PC release. Often that exclusivity is time-limited, so eventually that game comes to Steam, as was the case for Hades, for example.

That’s not what’s happened here. Instead, Epic Games is publishing Alan Wake 2, so they alone have the distribution rights. The same is true of Alan Wake Remastered, which is also published by Epic. You can get the original Alan Wake on Steam but not the remastered release which — on PC — is only on the Epic Games Store.

Does that mean Alan Wake 2 will never, ever come to Steam? While not impossible, with Epic being the publisher it’s very, very unlikely. There’d have to be a pressing reason for them to release it onto Steam, such as them abandoning the Epic Games Store entirely. Granted, the Epic Games Store reportedly doesn’t exactly turn a huge profit, but I can’t see Epic ditching it.

So, the reason why Alan Wake 2 isn’t on Steam is that it’s published by Epic Games themselves. And if you’re looking for more about on the upcoming survival-horror sequel, be sure to check our full coverage.