In November 2022, Remedy Entertainment signed a co-development and co-publishing deal with 505 Games for Control 2. However, that deal has now been terminated as Remedy Entertainment acquires full rights to the Control franchise.
On Wednesday, February 28, 2024, Remedy Entertainment announced it carried out a transaction “upon which all publishing, distribution, marketing and other rights to Control, codename Condor, Control 2, and all future Control products will revert to Remedy”.
Remedy stated that the maximum purchase price for the transaction is roughly €17 million ($18.4m). That amount is approximately equal to what the publisher has invested into the development of codename Condor and Control 2 to date—plus a minor premium. Remedy Entertainment plans to pay the purchase price in three installments over the next 12 months.
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Following the revert of the full rights of the Control franchise to Remedy, the Finnish-based company said it “is now in a position to make the right product and business decisions focusing on long-term franchise growth”.
According to the terms of the transaction, 505 Games ceases to own any rights to Control 2 and codename Condor. However, the publisher will continue to publish Control till the end of a transition period which comes to an end on December 31, 2024.
“In addition, 505 Games continues to administrate existing B2B deals for Control until their agreed expiration dates,” Remedy Entertainment said. “After the transition period and the expiry of these B2B deals, 505 Games will have no future royalty or other rights to Control.”
Control 2, formerly called Codename Heron, is the sequel to the multiple award-winning game Control. The visually stunning third-person action-adventure blends open-ended environments with compelling storytelling and signature world-building.
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“A corruptive presence has invaded the Federal Bureau of Control…,” read the official blurb. “Only you have the power to stop it. The world is now your weapon in an epic fight to annihilate an ominous enemy through deep and unpredictable environments. Containment has failed, humanity is at stake. Will you regain control?”
Remedy Entertainment’s CEO reacts to the Control deal
Reacting to the deal, Remedy Entertainment’s CEO Tero Virtala gave insights into the performance of Control since it was released in 2019. According to Virtala, Control has sold over 4 million units since its launch and “generated shareable net revenue of approximately €100 million to Remedy and 505 Games”.
The CEO mentioned that the reacquisition of full rights to Control is part of the company’s long-term strategy “to have more ownership over our business and the IPs we have created”. Remedy Entertainment doesn’t expect the transaction to have an immediate effect on its income statement.
The Alan Wake creator plans to publish its financial statement bulletin 2023 on March 20, 2024, at 9:00 a.m. (EET). It was pushed back from the initial February 9 plan because of the Control negotiation. The company will host a webcast and conference call in English on its full-year results for investors, analysts, and media on the same day at 4:00 p.m. (EET). Virtala and CFO Terhi Kauppi will lead the presentation.
“We will consider our options carefully, knowing that Control is considered an attractive franchise by many partners,” Virtala said. “Condor and Control 2 have both progressed well in recent months and we expect these projects to reach their next development stages during the first half of 2024. The development of Condor and Control 2 will continue normally when we consider the best publishing, distribution, and financing model for these projects.”
“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.”
