Alan Wake: Stephen King Sold His Quote for the Original’s Intro for $1

Alan Wake starts off strong from the get-go, with the game’s opening line coming straight from the king of horror himself, Stephen King. During a recent chat with Eurogamer at the Summer Game Fest, creator Sam Lake shed more light on adding a quote from Stephen King.

“Creating the original Alan Wake, I really, really desperately wanted a quote from him to start it off,” said Lake. “It’s my understanding he wanted $1 for us to get the rights to use it. [It was] so very generous.”

Alan Wake is generally regarded as one of the best horror franchises in the last decade. With a sequel set to arrive soon, fans are excited about the long-awaited return from Remedy to the series. However, it’s fair to say that it will be hard for the studio to hit the heights of the first one.

The original 2010 title follows the protagonist Alan Wake, who is a best-selling thriller writer. The story sees Wake investigating the mysterious disappearance of his wife, as he experiences the events from the plot of his latest novel, even though he doesn’t remember it.

The Alan Wake franchises draws heavily from the world of pop culture horror, which is headlined by the works of Stephen King. Other than King, the video game series also finds inspiration from the likes of Twin Peaks, Bret Easton Ellis, Neil Gaiman, and more.