Next week, Alan Wake and Alan Wake remastered will have a different ending song.

Remedy, in a reminder that licensed music can be a headache for most videogames, has announced that Space Oddity by David Bowie will be removed from Alan Wake starting next week.

Space Oddity is played over the Alan Wake credits, and it seems to be on-point. It tells the story of a man who is utterly alone and helpless, slowly floating towards his doom but overcome with awe, at an odd kind of peace with everything, and, in his last moments, thinking about his deep love for her. Even if you don’t agree with my thematic comparisons, it’s still a great song.

Next week, however, it will be gone - from some versions of Alan Wake at least. Remedy tweeted that "Alan Wake (2010) is getting an update on the 10th of September at 11am UTC." The update will be available for all PC versions (Steam Epic Games Store GOG). This update removes Space Oddity due to licensing changes, and replaces it by a new original track by Petri Alanko called Strange Moons. The update will not affect Alan Wake Remastered 2021."

It's not a new phenomenon in the world videogames. As far as outcomes go, it's pretty good. In some cases, such as Spec Ops: The Line, the music is simply removed. But in other cases, like Spec Ops: The Line, expired licenses can cause games to be pulled from sale. Alan Wake was removed from storefronts due to expiring music licenses in 2017. It was later brought back after Microsoft negotiated with the rightsholders.

Remedy has a head start on the competition this time. Alanko will replace Bowie's song with an original composition. This should please fans, as Alanko has composed music for all Remedy games since Alan Wake.

Remedy did not say why Space Oddity was removed from the original Alan Wake, but will remain in Alan Wake Remastered. We assume that the remastered version is newer, and therefore the licensing deal will expire sooner, even though it's essentially the same. Seems silly to me, but such is the way of the world sometimes--especially when it comes to business deals.