Control Was Developed With A Modest $30 Million Budget

Despite near-universal praise from critics, Remedy Entertainment's Control didn't quite top the charts when it was released back in August of this year. Remedy CEO Tero Virtala isn't particularly worried, however, as he says Remedy is pleased with how the game is selling.

In an interview with gamesindustry.biz, Virtala revealed that the sci-fi shooter was developed over the course of three years with a modest budget of just under $30 million. "We don't quite require the same huge lifetime numbers as many other games with bigger development budgets," Virtala explained. "Therefore, even though Control didn'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 pointed to the longevity of digital distribution as one of the reasons launch sales aren't as important as they used to be. "Nowadays, the majority of sales for many games are generated over a long period of time in digital stores--and Control continues to sell, which is good," he continued. "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. There is still a big audience out there that hasn't yet heard of Control. These are all factors that support the longer-term sales."

Virtala expressed his satisfaction with Control's success, especially considering it's a new IP that was mostly self-funded. The game's director, Mikael Kasurinen, echoed this sentiment, adding that Remedy is "extremely proud of Control, not just from the perspective of quality and creativity, but also in how we changed the culture of production and development. We haven't done a game as fast since Max Payne 2.

"What makes it even more impressive is that Control involves a lot of new technology, a new approach to the world structure, and is also not a sequel--a rarity nowadays."

With two story add-ons due in 2020, Remedy isn't done with Control just yet either.