Remedy Entertainment cancels premium co-op multiplayer game ‘Codename Kestrel’

Remedy Entertainment has decided to cancel the game codenamed “Kestrel” in order to focus on other games in its portfolio, the developer announced.

“Kestrel,” a reboot of an earlier project codenamed “Vanguard” that started in November 2023, had a small team working on the early concept stage of a premium cooperative multiplayer game. It was being developed by Remedy Entertainment, co-financed with Tencent, and to be co-published by Tencent.

According to Remedy Entertainment, the cancelation of “Kestrel” will allow other ongoing game development projects to gain experienced developers reassigned from “Kestrel.” Additionally, investment needs for the project have been removed, and Remedy Entertainment’s overall recruitment needs have been reduced.

“Codename ‘Kestrel’ showed early promise, but the project was still in its early concept stage,” said Remedy Entertainment CEO Tero Virtala in a press release. “Our other projects have advanced well and are moving to the next stages of development, and increasing focus on them provides us with benefits. We can reallocate talented ‘Kestrel’ developers to these other game projects, and many of our support functions get additional focus on their operations. This is yet another means to ensure that our game projects continue advancing well. I want to thank our ‘Kestrel’ development team. Though we decided to discontinue the project for wider Remedy benefits, our team has done good work and provided us with valuable learnings. I also want to thank Tencent for their partnership so far. They have been very professional and supportive.”