Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Entertainment has fully acquired the rights for Control. Back in 2018, Remedy announced that they had partnered with 505 Games to publish Control. Given the recent success they had with their latest game, Remedy has also gained the confidence to take the helm of their franchise without the aid of third-party publishers. This bold move grants them full agency and for lack of a better term, control over the growth of their IP.
Among the benefits of independently developing any project is that there is no need for a committee with second or third-party organizations, it can be done with only the necessary personnel within the inner circle. Remedy can now focus on fleshing out new ideas on their own and this could potentially mean they can work twice as fast as they did with a publisher breathing down their necks.
Remedy Games Taking Control of their IP
Acquiring the full rights was the right move for the studio moving forward, it will be much more convenient for them to work on projects they deem worthy without being tethered to another entity. Remedy paid 17 million euros which is a substantial amount and equivalent to the money spent that 505 Games has put out for Control and the sequel: Control 2.
Reaching 4 million units sold was an impressive feat for Control, and with the sequel and multiplayer co-op spinoff codenamed Condor on the way, it seems like Remedy has some big plans of its own. Hopefully, this move could help the studio recuperate from the commercial loss of Alan Wake 2, despite being a critical success it didn’t move units like the developer hoped it would.
Remedying the Alan Wake II Situation
An Alan Wake sequel was something fans have been asking for since the original came out over a decade ago, but it seems the sequel is struggling in terms of sales which could have several reasons ranging from the fact that the game only has no physical prints of the game which may discourage those who still prefer physical media, another reason is that people are more interested in live-service games than linear story-telling.
Being independent doesn’t mean Remedy will no longer be accepting any external deals in the future, but this will give them more leverage on who to work with given the success of their franchises. Perhaps future collaborations with other popular games will boost their popularity even more and introduce them to new people who were unfamiliar with the franchise.
Remedy has a lot of ground to cover to recover from the loss of Alan Wake 2, this new direction of their studio could imply that they plan on capitalizing and doing more projects in favor of Control. Do you think they could still remedy this situation, or control the outcome of the future? Putting an end to the wordplay, let us hear your thoughts in the comments below!
