Alan Wake is not coming to the PC, Strategy Informer reports, quoting a statement from Microsoft on distribution plans for the psychological thriller in development at Remedy Entertainment. Apparently Microsoft feels the Xbox 360 is the Dr. Phil that will help the game get over its intimacy issues: "Some games are more suited for the intimacy of the PC, and others are best played from the couch in front of a larger TV screen. We ultimately realised that the most compelling way to experience "Alan Wake" was on the Xbox 360 platform, so we focused on making it an Xbox 360 exclusive. Both Microsoft and Remedy have long histories in PC game development. This decision was about matching this specific game to the right platform."

Alan Wake was announced in May 2005 for "next generation consoles and PC's," and a year later it was touted by Microsoft as a game that will benefit from the then upcoming release of Windows Vista followed by discussion of possible Vista exclusivity. After that the PC wasn't mentioned for so long that fans began expressing concern this version was in trouble, and sure enough this was followed by Remedy saying that whether the game would come to Windows was up to Microsoft, which lead to a petition asking Microsoft for PC support.