Remedy Purchases IP Rights to Control From 505 Games

Developer Remedy Entertainment has announced that it has purchased the franchise rights to Control from publisher 505 Games. Released back in 2019, Control was published by 505 Games who also happened to own the rights to the IP outright due to an agreement that had been struck with Remedy. Now, with Remedy itself working on Control 2 and a new multiplayer-focused spin-off codenamed Condor, the studio has chosen to buy Control as a way of better charting its own course in the future. 

Announced in a statement on Remedy's website, the company revealed that it has purchased the Control property for EUR 17 million. This amount is based on the money that 505 Games has already given to Remedy for its work on Control 2 and Condor along with a "minor premium." As for the reason behind the move, Remedy attributed the success of Alan Wake 2 as a factor in why the studio is now able to buy Control and better put itself in a position to strike deals with other companies. 

"This transaction will enable us to negotiate better deals for current and future Control games," Remedy said in a new release. "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."

Remedy owning the rights to Control is likely a much bigger deal for the studio as it continues to build out the Remedy Connected Universe. First introduced with Control, Remedy began the process of folding in lore and characters from Alan Wake to create a larger world that houses all of its games. This was furthered that much more in Alan Wake 2, which contained a number of major references and callbacks to what was seen in Control. For Remedy to now own both of these franchises means that the studio should be able to continue building this universe in the future without having to get clearance from various publishers in the process. 

Moving forward, it will be interesting to see if Remedy also attempts to buy the rights to Quantum Break and Max Payne. In addition to Control and Alan Wake, Quantum Break and Max Payne are the other two major properties that Remedy has worked with in the past, both of which were also alluded to in underhanded ways within Alan Wake 2. For the time being, Remedy continues to work on the Max Payne series with owner Rockstar Games, as remakes of both Max Payne and Max Payne 2 are currently in development.