Remedy Entertainment buys all of the Control IP rights from 505 Games for 17 million euros, and will look for a new partner for Control 2 and Condor, although they assure that it is a friendly breakup.
Remedy Entertainmentthe Finnish studio behind Max Payne, Control y Alan Wakeit is still a totally study independent. It is sometimes surprising that the authors of such acclaimed AAA games are “indies”, and in each game they have to look for partners willing to produce them.
For example, Alan Wake 2 only came out thanks to Epic Games (who, for example, decided not to release it in physical format), since the publishers of the first Alan Wake, Microsoft, were no longer interested in the study after the poor results of Quantum Break.
Currently, Remedy has agreements with Epic Games, Tencent, Take-Two (Rockstar Games) or 505 Games; The latter were the producers and publishers of Control, the 2019 game nominated for The Game Awards.
But not anymore: Tero VirtalaCEO of Remedy, announces that the studio has purchased full rights to the Control franchise from 505 Games, who will separate themselves from it during this transition year.
505 Games will cease to be the publisher of Control as of December 31, 2024, and when all additional agreements end, 505 Games will no longer obtain any type of royalty or rights to the Control franchise.
Remedy feels strong and in a better negotiating position because “Control is an established brand and Alan Wake 2 has been successful” (verbatim) and they have only paid for it 17 million euroswhich is the approximate amount that 505 Games had already invested in the development of the two Control sequels.
Remedy seeks new partner to publish Control sequels
505 Games will recover what was invested, and little (or nothing) more: Remedy obtains the rights to Control, and therefore full profits from sales of the game (or future ports or remakes), as well as full control of Control 2 and codename Condor.
There does not seem to be a bad relationship with 505 Games: Virtala acknowledges that “they have enjoyed a good partnership” that has allowed them to obtain 100 million euros of income distributed between Remedy and 505, selling 4 million copies.
But it is part of Remedy's long-term strategy to have more ownership over the businesses and IPs they have created. “Having full ownership of the Control franchise gives us the freedom to decide the best path forward.”
Remedy has been working on Control 2direct sequel, and Condor, multiplayer spin-off, with 505 Games, but now they will look for a new publisher… or self-publish it.
“This transaction will allow us to negotiate better deals for current and future Control games. We can now weigh the options between self-publishing and a new publishing partner for Condor and Control 2.”
“We are confident that these combined factors (brand recognition of Control and success of Alan Wake 2) They will allow us to obtain the right partner, business structure and risk-reward profile that will benefit Remedy and be the best option for the Control franchise. “We will evaluate and negotiate with potential future partners over the coming months.”