the Max Payne series, the team wanted to develop something new. They began prototyping and experimenting with different gameplay mechanics with the intention of making a sandbox game. However, due to limited resources, the team found that developing an open world was not feasible and decided to refocus the game as a linear experience. The company was inspired by Stephen King's novels, Twin Peaks, ghost towns in the American Northwest, and tornado patterns, and they invited a landscape architect to serve as the game's consultant. The team organised a field trip to the Northwest and Crater Lake and took more than 40,000 photographs for use creating the game's environment. The game was in pre-production for more than three years, while full development only lasted for approximately two years. During this period, the studio increased the number of employees from 30 to 45. Some media outlets suspected the game had become vapourware as it disappeared from the public spotlight for a considerable time after its announcement. Microsoft Game Studios acted as the game's publisher after securing an exclusivity deal with Remedy. The title, Alan Wake was released for Microsoft's Xbox 360 to generally positive reviews in May 2010. Remedy pushed for a PC version after the game's launch, and Microsoft greenlit its production in mid-2011. The PC version, developed with Nitro Games, was released in February 2012. The game sold more than 3.2 million copies, but Remedy explained in 2013 that it was not financially successful enough for them to raise the funds needed to continue developing a sequel. Unlike Max Payne, Alan Wakes narrative was written to accommodate the release of multiple sequels. The company began developing different prototypes for Alan Wake 2. Some of its elements were reintegrated into Alan Wake's American Nightmare, a 2012 standalone Xbox Live Arcade game which had a much shorter development cycle. Collectively, both games sold more than 4.5 million copies as of March 2015. The company showed the prototype it had developed for Alan Wake 2 to different publishers. Microsoft was not interested in pursuing a sequel to Alan Wake, but they were keen on working with Remedy again on an original intellectual property. The company had experimented with transmedia storytelling in Alan Wake, and Microsoft hoped Remedy would further expand the live-action component in their next project, Quantum Break. Pre-production of the game began in 2011; approximately 100 people worked on it.