Gaming News & Opinions

Control: Ultimate Edition Opens Gaming’s Latest Anti-Consumer Hellhole

Control, one of 2019's best games, won't have a free next-gen upgrade. That is, unless you fork out more money for the 'Ultimate Edition'

  • Control: Ultimate Edition is the only way to get a free next-gen upgrade of the base game.
  • This news has met with a lot of bad publicity online.
  • Remedy Entertainment and 505 Games need to stop predatory rubbish.

The Xbox Series X got a lot of good publicity thanks to the Smart Delivery campaign. Despite this, there have been some thoroughly uncooperative developers and publishers out there who haven’t been keen to back the service.

While many gamers expected companies like EA to ignore Smart Delivery, the real blow came from Remedy Entertainment. In a kick in the face to those that supported them, Remedy has said that only those who purchase the Control: Ultimate Edition will get a free next-gen upgrade.

If you bought the game during or post-release and shelled out for a season pass, then Remedy Entertainment wants you to know just how little they think of you.

Many fans who had been supporters of the game in the past were really not happy with the decision to gatekeep the next-gen version of Control behind the Ultimate Edition. | Source: Twitter

Control: Ultimate Edition Is a Slap in the Face to the Game’s Fans

The biggest gut-punch of this entire situation is that it’s coming from Remedy. They were named one of the ‘people of the year’ in 2019 for managing to launch Control so well, and having the insight to become more independent and produce games for every available platform.

Less than a year after being given such an accolade, they’ve proven that they don’t deserve it.

When they made the risky move of going independent, they needed it to succeed. Everyone who bought the game on launch, and those that went even further and bought the season pass, helped to make that risky move worthwhile.

Now those people who supported them when Remedy needed it most are being left behind. If you haven’t bought it yet, then Control: Ultimate Edition is an excellent deal for you if you want your money going towards Remedy anymore.

Video: Control Ultimate Edition is Predatory

It’s Hard To Blame The Annoyed Fans

The announcement of Control: Ultimate Edition and the not-so-free upgrade has upset fans. Many gamers online expressed utter disbelief that Remedy Entertainment would do this. Other people tried to defend them, claiming that it was more than likely the publisher’s decision.

While it’s true that Control: Ultimate Edition might be the doing of 505Games, it still doesn’t look good for Remedy. Whether the decision was down to them or not, it’s their name on the line. I don’t feel inclined to support them either way.

I’ve also reached out to Remedy Entertainment directly to allow them to defend themselves.

Last modified: September 23, 2020 2:19 PM

William Worrall

William Worrall is a professional writer based out of the UK who has been writing about video and tabletop games for over a decade and has covered industry events such as EGX and UKGE. Contact him at william.worrall@ccn.com, see his LinkedIn profile here.