Remedy recently announced that an upcoming update for Alan Wake will remove David Bowie’s classic song “Space Oddity” from the game and replace it with an original song by Remedy composer Petri Alanko, “Strange Moons” 》. However, it seems that this update will not affect Alan Wake: Remastered, which will be launched in 2021.
This galactic rock song is arguably one of Bowie’s most famous songs, and its iconic line “Ground control to Major Tom” was originally played during the closing credits of Alan Wake. While we don’t yet know what “Strange Moons” will sound like, composer Alanko said on X/Twitter that part of the song was originally included in the Alan Wake level, but was cut before the game’s final release. dropped.
Music licensing often results in game developers having to update or even remove their games years after release due to expiration of legal contracts. Perhaps the most notable recent example is Spec Ops: The Line, which was removed from Steam due to “the imminent expiration of multiple partner licenses associated with the game.” While it’s unclear whether these are related to music licensing, it’s a shame that one of the most critically acclaimed shooters of the early 2010s is no longer available for next-gen players to enjoy. The latest DLC “Night Springs” for Alan Wake 2 was released in June.
Remedy recently struck a deal with Annapurna to co-finance and self-publish Control 2, which could lead to the development of a movie or TV show based on the Control and Alan Wake franchises.
