News

Finnish studio Remedy Entertainment has a reputation for pushing the boundaries of storytelling in games, from the graphic novel framework of the original Max Payne games to the Twin Peaks meets Stephen King ambience of Alan Wake. It's next game, Xbox One exclusive Quantum Break, pushes things even further, shipping with a complete live action TV series that will change and reflect the things you do in the game.

"We've taken a lot of the learnings about interactive storytelling from Alan Wake and we hope to raise the bar further," CEO Matias Myllyrinne told GamesIndustry.biz. "We've taken a lot of the learnings about cinematic combat and shooting mechanics from Max Payne to push those further. We're building on those for what will hopefully be the ultimate Remedy experience."

And how will the game-and-show element work? Will players miss out if they don't watch the live action videos, and can the episodes be enjoyed without playing the game? Sort of, but not really, is the answer. "The game and TV show ship together as one cohesive package," Myllyrinne explains. "The episodes of the TV show are interwoven with the episodes of the game. The storylines take place in the same location. Hypothetically you can watch one or play the other but you'll get so much more out of it if you combine them together."

Quantum Break has yet to be given a firm release date, but it is just one of eight new game series launching exclusively on Xbox One, which goes on sale later this year.