Control's PS4 saves can't transfer to PS5 without doing this first

Plan on playing Control on PS5, but have existing saves on PS4? You'll need to run the Ultimate Edition on the PS4 first.

Control is a good example on how to not handle next-gen upgrades. The base PS4 and Xbox One version of Control aren't getting free next-gen PS5 or Xbox Series X upgrades. Gamers who already own Control on current-gen systems have to re-buy the Control Ultimate Edition at full price to play the game on next-gen hardware with high-end optimizations like ray-traced visuals and boosted frame rates. Control is still fully backward compatible, though, and will take advantage of new features like improved loading times via SSD tech.

Things get more even more frustrating, though. Existing saves from the non-Ultimate port of the game aren't compatible with next-gen consoles by default. The base version of Control has a different save than the Ultimate Edition. Gamers have to first run the Ultimate Edition on a PS4 or Xbox One to convert their base Control saves to a format that's compatible with next-gen consoles. This is a process that's usually done seamlessly with free in-game updates.

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Here's what a 505 Games support rep told a consumer:

Unfortunately, save-data from the base PS4 game isn't compatible with the PS5 Ultimate Edition.

The PS4 base game saves are compatible with the PS4 Ultimate Edition, however. Additionally, the PS4 Ultimate Edition is eligible for the free PS5 upgrade, in which the save data will be compatible.

So if you already have existing Control saves on your PS4 or Xbox One, you might want to keep your current-gen console handy to avoid starting the Ultimate Edition from scratch.

The Control Ultimate Edition releases at the end of 2020 for a $39.99 price tag. The disc version is slated to launch in 2021.