What just happened? Finnish video game developer Remedy Entertainment has acquired full rights to its “Control” action game franchise from publisher 505 Games. The deal is worth €17 million ($18.36 million) and covers the original 2019 game, as well as its upcoming sequel Control 2, the multiplayer co-operative spin-off codenamed Condor, and all potential future releases.
While 505 Games will continue as the publisher of the original Control until December 31, 2024, the publishing agreement for Control 2 and Condor terminates immediately. In a blog post aimed at investors, Remedy said that it hasn’t yet decided whether it will self-publish future releases in the franchise or find a new third-party publishing partner.
According to Remedy, the two parties decided on the €17 million deal price as that’s roughly how much 505 spent on the development of Control 2 and Condor. The developer says it will pay out the amount in three cash installments over the next 12 months. Digital Bros, which owns 505 Games, sold the publishing rights to the hit franchise because it wants to work with fewer titles that it believes can help with “long-term value creation.”
Released in 2019, Control is a supernatural action-adventure third-person shooter game originally available on PS4, Xbox One and Windows PC. It was subsequently released for the latest-generation consoles, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. Upon release, the game received mostly positive reviews from critics and gamers, with many gaming blogs naming it one of their top games for 2019. It turned out to be a big hit for Remedy and 505, selling more than 4 million units globally.
The next installment in the series will be the provisionally named Control 2, which was announced back in November 2022. Remedy had earlier revealed that it was working on two Control games, including spin-off Condor. While the developer hasn’t divulged a whole lot about either title, including their probable release dates, game director Mikael Kasurinen has described the sequel as “the most exciting project” he’s ever worked on. Remedy will be hoping that both the upcoming releases will be able to match the success of the original.
