Remedy is leaving Epic in the dark place to self-publish Control 2 through a 'strategic cooperation agreement' with Annapurna
Remedy will self-publish Control 2 as part of a new "strategic cooperation agreement" with Annapurna. A press release accompanying the announcement says Annapurna will provide half of Control 2's development budget, and in return gains the rights to adapt Control and Alan Wake for film and television.
Remedy's last game, Alan Wake 2, was published through an exclusivity agreement with Epic Games. Despite Alan Wake 2 being good enough to earn our Best Story of 2023 award alongside a pile of other accolades, it seems like the exclusivity deal kept the game from achieving its full sales potential: By May of this year, it hadn't yet sold enough copies to recoup development costs. Considering Epic's own CEO recently said most of its exclusivity deals "were not good investments," I'm sure Remedy's welcoming the opportunity to get its next big game on Steam from day one.
According to the press release, Remedy will get a greater chunk of the revenue share from game sales "after the initial investments have been recouped, proportional to the amounts invested," while Annapurna will receive a higher share of the profits from eventual TV and film adaptations. "Remedy will retain the full IP rights for Control and Alan Wake," the press release said.
Remedy and Annapurna feels like a natural partnership. Skim through Annapurna Interactive's release catalog, and you'll find a clear appreciation for artful spookiness and surreality in games like Cocoon and Mundaun that would make for a tasteful pairing with the Remedyverse.
In a Remedy blog published alongside the announcement, communications director Thomas Puha says the agreement "means Remedy is able to make Control 2 exactly the game we want it to be, while we now also have an incredible partner to extend our IPs to other mediums."
Sam Lake, creative director for Alan Wake 2 and guy you might've seen living his best life during that musical number at the last Game Awards, said he's "absolutely thrilled (yes!) by this opportunity to expand the story of Alan Wake and our whole Remedy Connected Universe to mediums beyond games, and to build all of this in close collaboration, games, film, TV, and other mediums as well, as one unified vision. I trust Annapurna are the perfect partner for us to make this dream come true."