The original pitch for Alan Wake 2 included TV-style live action cutscenes. Microsoft showed interest in that idea, but little in a sequel to the cult classic supernatural action game. This pitch evolved into Quantum Break, which Microsoft published.
In an interview with Eurogamer at Summer Game Fest, Remedy creative director Sam Lake discussed the pitching process for Alan Wake 2. Lake said, “so, we were creating a concept of Alan Wake 2, we were showing it to Microsoft–but other publishers as well at the time–and it was maybe slightly awkward timing as, you know, the industry shifts and changes along the way.”
“It was at the time where clearly there was feeling that linear single player games are a thing of the past. Well, single-player story obviously is huge these days, but at the time, it felt like nobody was really interested.”