Despite Alan Wake 2’s critical acclaim and widespread praise since its launch roughly two years ago, it’s no secret the huge video game struggled to turn a profit due to its huge budget and Epic Games exclusivity deal on PC. This year, the co-op shooter FBC: Firebreak also failed to deliver the numbers Remedy was hoping for. The result? CEO Tero Virtala is stepping down.
Via GamesIndustry.biz, we’ve learned Virtala is departing the company effective immediately after being appointed CEO in 2016. “Remedy co-founder and chief product officer Markus Mäki will take on the role of interim CEO” for now and starting today, October 22, 2025. Mäki’s statement is a brief one:
“I want to thank Tero Virtala for his substantial contribution to the management of Remedy since 2016… I personally thank Tero for good cooperation and wish him all the best for the future.”
At the same time, Henri Österlund will take over Mäki’s previous role as chairman of the developer’s board of directors. This change also goes into effect today.
This (unsurprising) bit of news arrives right after we learned about Remedy adjusting its FY25 outlook following Firebreak failing to break through the noise or to convince Control fanatics. In spite of being of the big names to watch out for in games at the moment, the company has been struggling after a number of short-sighted business decisions that already raised more than a few eyebrows long ago.
As the Western games industry tries to navigate uncertain waters, it’s become more and more evident developers with extensive experience making and shipping projects are the best possible leadership large developers and publishers can ask for, and Virtala’s exit is yet another example of how many established companies’ leadership teams are failing to read the room.
We’re hoping for the best with this leadership shakeup at Remedy as the company continues to work on exciting future projects like the Max Payne 1 & 2 remake and Control 2.
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