Alan Wake Fan Buys 4,000 Copies of the First Game That She Can't Even Play

A devoted Alan Wake fan has bought 4,000 digital Xbox 360 codes of the 2010 game that are unfortunately unusable. The original Alan Wake was released in 2010 and became a cult classic Xbox 360 title over the years. The creepy story of fiction writer Alan Wake being haunted by his own writings coming to life in the Pacific Northwest town of Bright Falls captivated fans with its unique and gloomy atmosphere.

13 years later, fans of Remedy Entertainment and Alan Wake were treated to the long-awaited sequel. Alan Wake 2 was released in October to rave reviews, becoming one of the most well regarded games of 2023, next to Baldur's Gate 3 and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Introducing a new protagonist alongside Alan himself, Alan Wake 2's Saga Anderson helped new players grow acquainted with the twisted narrative of Alan's world. Alan Wake 2 allowed players to swap between Saga's adventure as an FBI agent in Bright Falls and Alan's dangerous trek through The Dark Place. The sequel also took a bigger swing at survival horror, with its Resident Evil-stylegameplay and level design, compared to its predecessor's more action-oriented third-person shooter combat.

One devout Alan Wake fan loves the franchise so much that she bought thousands of copies of the 2010 original game she can't even use. PCGamesN interviewed a fan named Alisa, who purchased 4,000 Alan Wake promotional cards from 2010 for $240 on eBay, each containing a code for the digital version of the game on Xbox 360. After trying a number of the codes, Alisa disappointingly discovered that none of them allowed her to download Alan Wake, rendering the entire purchase useless.

In reaching out to Microsoft support, Alisa learned that these more than decade-old promo cards that shipped from Finland, the home country of Alan Wake developer Remedy Entertainment, were likely never activated for use to begin with. One might deem the purchase a bust, but Alisa has other plans for these Alan Wake code cards. In