What you need to know
- Alan Wake 2 is now available on Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC via the Epic Games Store, and PlayStation 5.
- Some Xbox players have been reporting an issue where audio drops intermittently early in the game.
- The latest patch provided by developer Remedy Entertainment provides a workaround fix for this issue, with a "full fix" to come later on.
More fixes are here for one of the year's most unique games.
Developer Remedy Entertainment shared the latest patch notes for Alan Wake 2, with the newest update providing a "workaround" for an audio issue that has plagued perplexed players on Xbox Series X|S consoles. The audio problem caused the game's audio to cut out intermittently or entirely, usually extremely early on, about halfway through the game's first chapter.
Remedy Entertainment notes that a "full fix" is on the way in a future update, though there's no exact details for what that means or what the difference is in the workaround fix provided right now.
Is Alan Wake 2 is receiving rapid patches?
While this long-awaited sequel has been well-received critically, Alan Wake 2 launched with a bevy of technical issues even after the developers patched some problems that persisted throughout the game's review period. Remedy has been extremely efficient so far, with the prior patch fixing over 200 issues in Alan Wake 2 across all platforms, while also improving image quality on Xbox Series S.
Analysis: Hopefully a solid stop-gap measure
Having audio issues is never fun, especially in a game that sounds as good as Alan Wake 2. Hopefully this quick fix tides most players over until the problem can be stomped out for good.
In my review of Alan Wake 2, I wrote that the game "also features crisp audio work, from the broken-record chattering of Taken to howling wind through the trees. Remedy doesn't usually disappoint on the soundtrack front and that's the case here, with a massive collection of music. The track list is especially bolstered thanks to the Old Gods of Asgard, an in-universe band that first appeared in the first Alan Wake, performed by real-life band Poets of the Fall."
