Control 2, Condor and the Max Payne remakes are shaping up just fine, say Remedy
Look, it's a slow news day
The weekend bears down on us like a host of hissing, barrel-throwing psychics, but there is yet time for some brief updates on Remedy's Control 2, which Remedy say is coming along nicely. The same is apparently true of the multiplayer Control spin-off Project Condor and the Max Payne 1 & 2 remakes, on which Remedy are collaborating with GTA and Max Payne 3 developers Rockstar.
As passed on by VGC, Remedy reveal in their latest financial report that Control 2 has "progressed to the production readiness stage", following the delivery of "a build of the game showcasing several important features in playable form". They're now "scaling up" for full production. Teaser trailer with target visuals anytime, Remedy. I have yet to hear a telekinesis sound effect as gratifying as the one in Control.
The Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake, meanwhile, has "progressed from production readiness to the full production stage". According to Remedy, the development team is currently working towards a version of the game that is playable from beginning to end. As for Condor - in which you seemingly join a scrappy group of federal agents, marooned within the Oldest House - "the development team has worked on multiple maps and different mission types, and we have organized a growing amount of internal and limited external playtesting for feature validation and feedback."
In February this year, Remedy acquired the rights to the Control franchise from 505 Games, giving them sovereign say over how and when Control games get published. Remedy also cancelled a Tencent collaboration codenamed Kestrel in May, freeing up resources and people for their existing franchises.
Since then, the latest financial release explains, they've been "weighing self-publishing and related business models, as well as discussing different partner publishing opportunities" for both Control and the Alan Wake series. We can apparently expect to hear more "towards the end of the year". Here's my pitch for the future of Control: make a spin-off series based on CTRL+ keyboard shortcuts. CTRL+F could be a detective simulation, for example, while CTRL+O could be an open worlder, and CTRL-Alt-Delete is a special minigame I play with Alan Wake 2 as and when the raytracing gives my PC a seizure.