Control developer Remedy says it's regained full rights to the franchise from now-former publisher 505 Games, suggesting that the publisher won't be involved in publishing future Control projects.
In a post on its investor relations website, Remedy says "all publishing, distribution, marketing, and other rights to Control" have reverted to the Finnish studio.
This includes not only the first game, but also multiplayer spinoff Project Condor (which could, in fact, be called FBC: Firebreak), the upcoming Control sequel, and "all future Control products".
Publishing agreements for the original Control are, according to Remedy, also "immediately terminated by mutual agreement", so a new publisher will need to be found for the first game as well.
Remedy says it paid 17 million euros for the transfer of the rights, which amounts to the total sum 505 Games has paid for development on Control 2 and Condor "including a minor premium".
The separation isn't acrimonious; Remedy CEO Tero Virtala says the two companies have simply chosen to "amicably part ways", so there isn't any bad blood between Remedy and 505.
As for what the future holds for Control, Remedy says it's now facing a choice between "self-publishing and a new publishing partner" for Control 2 and Condor.
The studio says that it's in a strong negotiating position thanks to Control being an "established brand". Remedy also points to the success of Alan Wake 2, which is the studio's fastest-selling game so far, as further evidence of the strength of its negotiating position for publishing endeavors.
It's likely that we'll hear something about who Remedy has chosen as its publishing partner for Control (if, indeed, it doesn't choose to self-publish) in the coming months. In the meantime, Remedy will publish a detailed financial statement for 2023 on March 20th, where we'll get to hear more about the studio's financial health.
