Alan Wake 2 developer Remedy Entertainment is making a big change with one of its next games

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Control 2 will be an action-RPG, per a new presentation from developer and publisher Remedy Entertainment.

Control promotional screenshot
Control puts players in control of Jesse Faden, director of the FBC. (Image credit: Remedy Entertainment)

What you need to know

  • Developer Remedy Entertainment shared some updates on its project pipeline in a Capital Markets Day event.
  • Remedy revealed that its 2023 survival-horror game Alan Wake 2 has sold over 1.8 million copies.
  • Remedy also shared that the upcoming Control 2 will be an action-RPG, and that it needs to sell between 3 to 4 million copies in its lifetime to recoup its costs.

We've got a better idea of where one of the most unique studios in the gaming industry is headed.

Remedy Entertainment shared a comprehensive look at its overall business strategy in a Capital Markets Day 2024 event. During the event, Remedy's presentation revealed that the upcoming Control 2 will be an action-RPG, marking a genre shift compared to the studio's prior titles. While the original Control (which launched in 2019) allowed players to upgrade their skills and complete side quests, the game was still firmly an action-adventure title.

Remedy also revealed that its survival-horror title Alan Wake 2 has now sold over 1.8 million copies. While Remedy acknowledges that launching as an Epic Games Store exclusive limited the sales potential of the game and Alan Wake 2 is not yet profitable, the company still believes this was the right call.

"It is highly questionable that the game would've turned out to be the masterpiece it is without the support of Epic," says chief commerical officer Johannes Paloheimo.

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Remedy is all-in on self-publishing

Remedy is self-publishing the Control spinoff, FBC: Firebreak, which is slated for next year. (Image credit: Remedy Entertainment)

Looking ahead, Remedy Entertainment is self-publishing a number of its upcoming games.

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This includes Control 2 as well as the co-op spinoff title FBC: Firebreak, which tasks three players with teaming up and stopping incursions into the Oldest House. FBC: Firebreak is slated to launch at some point in 2025 across Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, and PlayStation 5, and will be available day one through Xbox Game Pass.

Per Remedy, FBC: Firebreak needs to sell around 3 million copies for a complete return on investment (ROI), while Control 2 needs to sell around 3 to 4 million copies, with Remedy's chief financial officer Santtu Kallionpää saying these numbers are "realistic" for the company to achieve.

Control 2 does not currently have a release window, meaning it's likely launching at some point after FBC: Firebreak. This could indicate a 2026 release window, but we'll have to wait for more information.

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Samuel Tolbert
Samuel Tolbert
Freelance Writer

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter @SamuelTolbert.

6 Comments Comment from the forums
  • fjtorres5591
    3-4M sales to recoup costs?
    So, $200M development cost?
    No wonder they were able to buy back the IP rights.

    This and the highly rated multiplatform ALAN WAKE 2 moving 1.8M units and still being underwater are two datapoints to remember when discussing the state of the blockbuster gaming sector. It's challenging.

    They might hit breakeven but some profits might be nice...
    (edited)
    Reply
  • GraniteStateColin
    fjtorres5591 said:
    $3-4M sales to recoup costs?
    So, $200M development cost?
    No wonder they were able to buy back the IP rights.

    This and the highly rated multiplatform ALAN WAKE 2 moving 1.8M units and still being underwater are two datapoints to remember when discussing the state of the blockbuster gaming sector. It's challenging.

    They might hit breakeven but some profits might be nice...
    I think that's 3-4 million copies, not dollars. But even so, 3M copies x $40/to Remedy per sale = $120M, so that would seem to be a problem for profitability with $200M in dev costs. Are there different cost dynamics for a AAA publisher (like Hollywood film costs, where they need to earn double the cost just to break even due to marketing, but in reverse)?
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    GraniteStateColin said:
    I think that's 3-4 million copies, not dollars. But even so, 3M copies x $40/to Remedy per sale = $120M, so that would seem to be a problem for profitability with $200M in dev costs. Are there different cost dynamics for a AAA publisher (like Hollywood film costs, where they need to earn double the cost just to break even due to marketing, but in reverse)?
    Yup.
    Got carried away with the sign.
    Will edit away.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    GraniteStateColin said:
    I think that's 3-4 million copies, not dollars. But even so, 3M copies x $40/to Remedy? per sale = $120M, so that would seem to be a problem for profitability with $200M in dev costs. Are there different cost dynamics for a AAA publisher (like Hollywood film costs, where they need to earn double the cost just to break even due to marketing, but in reverse)?
    I was calculating off a $70 price, and a (typical) 30% store fee. So $49 gross for the publisher. If they need 4 M units sold to break even that is around $200M.

    For movies, the theater (chain) typically gets 50% of the reported gross (which is typically just an estimate). Except for many Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm movies where Disney has charged as much as 75% of the gross. Thus most other movies generally need revenue twice the (reported) production cost (which can be both inflated or under-reported as required by standard Hollywood accounting).

    Game costs these days are more likely underreported to allow for underperformance. And that is when there is any report as the platform owners rarely talk. Mostly it is the publicly traded third party publishers that (grudgingly) admit the blood letting. WB-D had no choice since they're so deep in hock.

    And that admission gives my $200M estimate a bit of backing.
    Which, btw, breaks down to $40-50M a year for typical AAA games.

    (A burn rate that aligns with the report that CONCORD burned $400M over its 8 years.)

    It wasn't that long ago that $50M would produce a good AAA game over 2-3 years.

    The other half of the problem is the sales. ALAN WAKE 2 at 1.8M matches DEATH STRANDING' Playstation lifetime sales. Even with a delayed PC release DS barely made it to 2M. the Alan Wake DLC had better sell well.
    Reply
  • GraniteStateColin
    fjtorres5591 said:
    I was calculating off a $70 price, and a (typical) 30% store fee. So $49 gross for the publisher. If they need 4 M units sold to break even that is around $200M.

    For movies, the theater (chain) typically gets 50% of the reported gross (which is typically just an estimate). Except for many Disney/Marvel/Lucasfilm movies where Disney has charged as much as 75% of the gross. Thus most other movies generally need revenue twice the (reported) production cost (which can be both inflated or under-reported as required by standard Hollywood accounting).

    Game costs these days are more likely underreported to allow for underperformance. And that is when there is any report as the platform owners rarely talk. Mostly it is the publicly traded third party publishers that (grudgingly) admit the blood letting. WB-D had no choice since they're so deep in hock.

    And that admission gives my $200M estimate a bit of backing.
    Which, btw, breaks down to $40-50M a year for typical AAA games.

    (A burn rate that aligns with the report that CONCORD burned $400M over its 8 years.)

    It wasn't that long ago that $50M would produce a good AAA game over 2-3 years.

    The other half of the problem is the sales. ALAN WAKE 2 at 1.8M matches DEATH STRANDING' Playstation lifetime sales. Even with a delayed PC release DS barely made it to 2M. the Alan Wake DLC had better sell well.

    I'm with you. So where I estimated $40 to Remedy, you say it's actually $50, and where I went with the low end of the range with 3M copies sold, you figured on 4M, that's the delta between 3x40=120 vs 4x50=200. Got it. :-)

    Another thing you said that I did not realize (off topic from gaming): Disney's studios earn up to 75% of the gross on ticket sales. Interesting. I didn't realize they managed special terms vs. other movies.
    Reply
  • fjtorres5591
    GraniteStateColin said:
    I'm with you. So where I estimated $40 to Remedy, you say it's actually $50, and where I went with the low end of the range with 3M copies sold, you figured on 4M, that's the delta between 3x40=120 vs 4x50=200. Got it. :)

    Another thing you said that I did not realize (off topic from gaming): Disney's studios earn up to 75% of the gross on ticket sales. Interesting. I didn't realize they managed special terms vs. other movies.
    Don't be so sure it isn't relevant to gaming: Disney licensed games aren't cheap to license. That's why they shut down their in-house studios in favor of licensing. Big upfront charge plus a rolling percentage of revenues.

    We can be sure the cost of Indiana Jones and Blade will be significantly higher than comparable XBOX IP.

    BTW, 75% is the high end of the range. 65-70% was more common. And that was pre-pandemic. Given Disney's string of flops in 22-23 that won't be doable for anything this side of AVATAR. Also, western movies are lucky to get 25% out China. If they are allowed in at all.

    https://celluloidjunkie.com/2017/11/04/disney-can-demand-65-box-office-star-wars-last-jedi/
    No wonder the theater chains were so weak the pandemic pushed some to bankruptcy.
    Reply