Nearly two years after launch, Control is still selling well and Remedy expects 2021 to be a good year for overall purchases.
Remedy's new IP is paying off big. The developer's earnings are strong (they made more in 1H 2021 than the entire 2017 year) and Control is a big reason for continued revenues. Control has sold 2 million copies as of December 2020 and has been played by over 10 million people via game sales, PlayStation Plus, and Game Pass. Remedy expects Control to continue selling well into its third year.
"Control sold well in 2020, a long time after its original launch, and Control has continued to sell well this year," Remedy Entertainment CEO Tero Virtala said in a recent earnings call.
"We are expecting this year to be a good year for Control. However, it's not a service-based game, and we don't have this expectation of continued year-over-year growth. Overall, we have good expectations for Control sales this year but not in a way over time that service-based games perform."
Control currently has two mainline release iterations: the original base game on PS4 and Xbox One, and the controversial Control Ultimate Edition on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, which also includes a next-gen upgrade to PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Remedy is currently developing two new Control-related projects: A big-budget sequel which is in very early conceptual phases, and a spin-off four-player PVE multiplayer game called Condor.
Details about Control:
- Developed on a $33 million budget
- 505 Games has 20-year publishing exclusivity on IP
- Remedy keeps 45% of sales revenues
- Control raised Remedy's earnings to highest point in history
- Epic Games paid $10.4 million for exclusivity on EGS
