Remedy Entertainment gains control of Control franchise from 505 Games
What you need to know
Developer Remedy Entertainment has acquired the full publishing and marketing rights to its 2019 game Control and all upcoming titles in the franchise from publisher 505 Games.
As part of the deal, Remedy Entertainment is paying 505 Games €17 million, or roughly $18,500,000 U.S.
This amount covers the money 505 Games has invested in upcoming titles Control 2 and Condor (codename), as well as a small premium.
Developer Remedy Entertainment is assuming more control over its shared game universe.
The developer announced on Wednesday in a press release that it has obtained the marketing and publishing rights for the Control franchise from publisher 505 Games. The deal will see Remedy Entertainment make three payments to 505 Games totaling €17 million, or roughly $18,500,000 U.S.
This amount is a small premium on the money that 505 Games has invested into the upcoming Control 2 and Condor, the latter of which is a codename for a co-op title in the world of Control.
Remedy also notes that Alan Wake 2 (also part of the Remedy Connected Universe) continues to be financially successful, and that the team will be evaluating different publishing options for the future Control games in the coming months. Alan Wake 2 — which launched back in October 2023 to critical acclaim across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5 — is Remedy's fastest-selling game ever, with over 1.3 million copies sold as February 2024.
What does this mean for Control fans?
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In the short to mid-term, nothing will really be changing here. In the long-run, Control 2 and the Condor project will have a new publisher. While Remedy is evaluating different partners, the most likely candidate is Epic Games, the publisher of Alan Wake Remastered and Alan Wake 2.
When Control launched in 2019, it was well-liked, but the decision to keep players who bought the base game from getting Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5 enhancements was widely criticized. Hopefully this kind of thing won't be happening in the future with a different publisher.
Analysis: Taking Control
It's good to see Remedy Entertainment in a financially healthy spot where the team can make moves like this. It'll still be a while before we see anything from Control, but knowing this connected universe is continuing to expand makes me happy. In the meantime, we've got Alan Wake 2 DLC to look forward to, with the first expansion, Night Springs, slated to arrive sometime in Spring 2024.
If you haven't played Alan Wake 2 yet, you should correct that, as it's a masterful and messy horror game that blends genres and pushes boundaries in an art-house fashion that we don't see frequently.
In my review of Alan Wake 2, I wrote that "Alan Wake 2 is raw, making it a brutal experience that shouldn't be missed by longtime Remedy fans or newcomers drawn by promises of terror. It's a story that examines what it means to be a writer and balance expectations from an audience, matched with satisfying combat that bloodily earns its place as a horror game."
