Remedy Entertainment has acquired the complete publishing, distribution, and marketing rights to the Control franchise, purchasing them from publisher 505 Games in a recent transaction. This means for the launch of Control 2, codename Condor, and other future projects, Remedy will have complete jurisdiction.
“The Control franchise is in the core of Remedy,” the studio announced. “Having acquired the full rights to Control, Condor and Control 2, Remedy is now in a position to make the right product and business decisions focusing on long-term franchise growth.”
As part of the transaction, publishing agreements with 505 Games have been “immediately terminated by mutual agreement” and all franchise rights licensed to 505 Games have been ended.
Read: Remedy provides major updates for Control 2, Max Payne remasters
505 Games will continue to publish Control until 31 December 2024, at which point the responsibility for the game will transfer to Remedy. After the expiration of its existing deals, the publisher will no longer have “future royalty or other rights” to the series.
The maximum purchase price for the transaction is listed as EUR 17 million (AUD $28.4 million) which reportedly equals the amount 505 Games has paid for the development of Control 2 and Condor to date, plus a minor premium.
“This transaction will enable us to negotiate better deals for current and future Control games,” Remedy said. “We can now weigh up the options between self-publishing and a new publishing partner for Condor and Control 2. At the same time, we are in a better negotiating position than before as Control is an established brand and Alan Wake 2 has been successful.”
“We are confident that these factors combined will enable us to get the right partner, deal structure and risk-reward profile that benefit Remedy and are the best fit for the Control franchise. We will evaluate and negotiate with potential future partners over the coming months.”
Speaking on the initial partnership, Remedy Entertainment CEO Tero Virtala described a good relationship that is now in need of change, as Remedy’s long-term strategy is to have “more ownership of [its] business and the IPs [it has] created.” Per Virtala, development on Condor and Control 2 will not be impacted by this transaction.
“As we amicably part ways, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the 505 Games team for our partnership over the years and for helping to establish Control as a gaming franchise with a lot of future potential,” Virtala said.
We can expect to hear more about the future of the Control franchise in the coming months.
