By Sagar V. Mankar Remedy Entertainment has pulled back the curtain on their recent successes and ambitious future plans. The Finnish game developer has shared some fascinating insights into their popular titles and upcoming projects at Capital Markets Day 2024 presentation, giving fans plenty to be excited about.
Let’s start with some impressive numbers: Control, their mind-bending action game released in 2019, has achieved remarkable success with over 4.5 million copies sold. Even more impressively, thanks to a free giveaway on the Epic Games Store, the game has reached an incredible 19 million players across all platforms. This shows how strategic free releases can dramatically expand a game’s audience.
Moving to their more recent release, Alan Wake 2 has sold 1.8 million copies since its October 2023 launch. While this supernatural thriller has received widespread critical acclaim and multiple awards at Game Awards, it’s worth noting that the game is just now approaching the break-even point. Interestingly, about 40% of players have completed the main story, indicating strong player engagement despite its challenging nature.
Overall, the Alan Wake franchise has reached 15 million players, with the remastered version of the original game selling over 1.7 million copies.
But perhaps the most exciting news comes from Remedy’s future plans. The studio has announced that Control 2 will be taking a fresh direction as an action RPG, departing from its predecessor’s action-adventure format. This shift suggests players can expect deeper character progression and customization options. Remedy is setting ambitious yet realistic goals, projecting lifetime sales of 3-4 million copies for Control 2.
Furthermore, Remedy has also shared specific financial details about their upcoming projects. Control 2’s development budget sits at approximately €50 million ($52.9 million), while their new cooperative game set in the Control universe, FBC: Firebreak, has a €30 million ($31.7 million) budget. The studio needs to sell between 3-4 million copies of Control 2 and 3 million copies of FBC: Firebreak to achieve a 100% return on investment over 3-5 years.
Looking ahead to early 2025, fans can look forward to a Control Ultimate Edition releasing on February 12, 2025. Additionally, the original Control will receive an update that will make previously PlayStation-exclusive content available across all platforms.
All of this comes at a challenging time for the gaming industry, which has seen numerous layoffs and studio closures. However, Remedy has maintained its independence, though they did secure a €15 million loan from Tencent to support their self-publishing efforts. The studio is also working with Rockstar Games on remakes of the first two Max Payne games, showing their ability to juggle multiple high-profile projects.
As for Alan Wake 2, fans can now enjoy its final planned DLC, The Lake House, which launched in October 2024 alongside various quality-of-life improvements. While the game’s sales may be slower than hoped, its critical success and steady performance suggest a bright future for the franchise.