Stephen King let Alan Wake quote him and only charged a dollar

According to Creative Director Sam Lake, using a Stephen King quote in the original Alan Wake only cost Remedy $1.

The original Alan Wake opens with the eponymous character quoting the storied author’s take on nightmares and their existence outside of logic. Wake’s opening monologue begins as follows: “Stephen King once wrote that ‘Nightmares exist outside of logic, and there’s little fun to be had in explanations; they’re antithetical to the poetry of fear.'”

It’s a fitting start to a game where the protagonist constantly feels as though he’s living a waking nightmare – one possibly of his own creation.

With Alan Wake 2 finally set to launch this fall, all eyes are on what’s next for the character. But the sequel often warrants another glimpse into the past, too. Out of such a discussion recently came an interesting revelation about how Remedy ended up using Stephen King’s “nightmare” quote.

Stephen King charged Remedy $1 for Alan Wake’s opening quote

Speaking with Eurogamer, Creative Director Sam Lake mentioned that he “really, really desperately wanted a quote from [King]” to begin the first Alan Wake adventure.

Fortunately for Remedy, the author had no problem singing off on the idea; he didn’t ask for much in return, either. Lake told the publication that Stephen King charged the studio next to nothing for the quote’s usage in-game.

“It’s my understanding he wanted $1 for us to get the rights to use it. [It was] so very generous,” he said.

At the time of writing, it’s unclear if the words of Stephen King will similarly feature in Alan Wake 2. The author’s influence litters the original game, though, so it stands to reason that Remedy may have also taken inspiration from King when building the upcoming sequel.

Either way, fans of the series should brace themselves for an even more terrifying adventure this time around. Remedy developers have confirmed the Alan Wake sequel will lean heavily on the trappings of survival horror.

Players can see what that means for themselves when Alan Wake 2 creeps onto PC and consoles on October 17.