Like just about every entertainment medium, video games are very expensive to make. As such, developers and publishers have to make sure they get back what they put into any given game. Some studios may spend over $100 million on a game, others spend much less.Controldeveloper Remedy Entertainment is the latter, and has benefited because of it.
In an interview withGamesIndustry.biz, Remedy Entertainment CEO Tero Virtala discussed how the Finnish studio doesn’t require the same numbers as bigger development houses, and how itControlis still a success even without chart-topping sales.
“Controlwas developed in three years with a budget of less than €30 million. We don’t quite require the same huge lifetime numbers as many other games with bigger development budgets,” says Virtala. “Therefore, even thoughControldidn’t have chart-topping sales right from the get go, we are in a good position with steady sales. We always take the long view here.”
Virtala also talks about howControlcan continue to do well for Remedy post-launch. “Nowadays, the majority of sales for many games are generated over a long period of time in digital stores – andControlcontinues to sell, which is good,” says Virtala. “We are bringing more free and paid content to the game. It has the proven high-quality and uniqueness, and the word-of-mouth that keeps growing.”
WhileControlhasn’t been the hottest seller this year, it did do well critically. It has garnered much praise since its launch, with it receiving a number of nominations at this year’s Game Awards including Game of the Year, Art Direction, Narrative, and Performance (Courtney Hope as Jesse Faden). You can check out ourreviewto see what we thought of Remedy’s wild adventure.
In otherControlnews,Phil Spencer let slip that the game would be coming to Xbox Game Pass. However, Remedy put out a short statement on Twitter saying that the info was incorrect and that they do not have any announcements regarding Xbox Game Pass currently.
