In its recent quarterly fiscal report, Remedy Entertainment confirmed that Control 2 has now entered the production readiness stage. What exactly does that mean, then? Though the action-adventure title isn’t in full production just yet, Remedy says a lot of it is now in playable form, with the development team preparing to scale up work on the project.

“Control 2 has progressed to the production readiness stage,” Remedy says. “The development team reached an important milestone in delivering a build of the game showcasing several important features in playable form. This has supported the ongoing business negotiations. The development team is working towards scaling up the production of the project.”

Meanwhile, work is also continuing on Control’s multiplayer co-op spinoff, codenamed Condor. Reportedly set to be titled FBC: Firebreak, the title entered full production earlier this year, and Remedy has now provided an update on how development is going.

“Codename Condor is in full production,” the developer says. “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.”

Condor is one of two titles that Remedy Entertainment currently has in full production, alongside Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake. Read more on that through here.

The furthest along is Codename Condor. The co-op Control spinoff, reportedly set to be titled FBC: Firebreak, entered the production readiness stage last year, and Remedy now confirms the game has now entered full production, which is the final stage of development prior to launch. Condor is, however, set to be live service title, which of course means work on the game will continue following launch.

“Codename Condor, a part of the Control franchise, moved to full production meaning it has reached the final development stage before a game is launched,” said CEO Tero Virtala. “Based on wide internal playtests, we can see that the core loop is engaging, and the game brings a unique Remedy angle to the genre.”

Meanwhile, Control 2, which is the next mainline single-player instalment in the franchise (the rights to which Remedy acquired from the first game’s publisher 505 Games earlier this year) is in the final leg of the proof-of-concept stage, and as per Remedy, will enter the production readiness stage before July.

“Control 2 team has focused on finalizing the proof-of-concept stage, in which the game world, game mechanics and visual targets are proven,” Virtala said. “We expect the project to advance to the production readiness stage during the second quarter of 2024.”

A little further along than Control 2 is Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake. The combined remake, which is being fully funded by IP owner Rockstar Games, is still in the production readiness stage, but as previously confirmed by Remedy, it will be moving into full production sometime this summer. That, incidentally, means the studio is going to have two projects in full production simultaneously for the first time in its history.

“We continue seeking further focus and synergies across our games portfolio and operations,” Virtala said. “Soon we expect to have two game projects simultaneously in full production and one in the production readiness stage for the first time. We are confident that the good progress of the beginning of the year carries over to the full production stages.”

Finally, there’s Codename Kestrel, which was previously Codename Vanguard before being rebooted as a paid co-op game. Remedy says the title’s development team is continuing to “refine the game concept” in the proof-of-concept stage.

There’s certainly room for such titles – see Helldivers 2 – but there are also risks, as illustrated by the underwhelming performance of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Remedy’s communications director, Thomas Puha, discussed this on Twitter, noting, “We are well aware of how challenging the coop multiplayer space is.

“I’d like to think we have realistic expectations (outside the company expectations always seem wild), but also be realistic that you never can plan and prepare for everything, just gotta roll with the punches. To be honest, every published game seems a small miracle these days.” He also acknowledges a user who believes it can be a good learning experience, even if it’s not a massive hit.

Condor is a spin-off of Control and focuses on the Federal Bureau of Control recapturing the Oldest House, their headquarters from the Hiss. It’s developed on Remedy’s Northlight engine for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, with plans to enter full production this year. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.

They tell me I'm cynical and I am LOL, we are well aware of how challenging the coop multiplayer space is. I'd like to think we have realistic expectations (outside the company expectations always seem to be wild), but also be realistic that you never can plan and prepare for…

— Thomas Puha (@RiotRMD) March 26, 2024

Yes indeed, good way to look at it.

— Thomas Puha (@RiotRMD) March 26, 2024

Condor has been described by Remedy as its “first step towards service-based games”. The title is set to enter full production this year, will be built on Remedy’s own Northlight engine, and will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Condor will also not be free-to-play, and will instead have a “service-based fixed price” release. This means that the game will feature a lower price point, but will also include game expansions, and potentially even microtransactions.

The studio has revealed a few more details about Condor, including its setting and theme. Based on Remedy’s description, it looks like the game will largely take place in the Oldest House—the primary setting for Control. Players will work on taking back control of the Oldest House from the Hiss.

All things considered, the game will also likely have players taking on the roles of various employees at the Federal Bureau of Control, taking orders from various characters from Control.

Personnel freed up following Alan Wake 2’s launch are the reason for this and includes senior gameplay designer Leonid Stepanov, who is now working on Control 2. There was no update on Kestrel, a free-to-play multiplayer title rebooted into a paid purchase with a “strong, cooperative multiplayer component.”

Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake entered the “production readiness” stage last October, but there haven’t been any details on its gameplay or changes. Creative director Sam Lake revealed that it’s a “big, big project” in terms of “bringing them up to modern standards and combining them into one.” Perhaps we’ll learn more later this year.

Control 2 is coming to Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC, but a release window is pending. A trademark from January 2024 suggests that Condor’s official name is FBC: Firebreak. Again, there’s no release window, so stay tuned for more updates.

As spotted by Respawn First, on January 8, Remedy Entertainment filed a trademark for a game called FBC: Firebreak. FBC is, of course, the Federal Bureau of Control, the clandestine government organization that’s central to the Control universe’s story. “Firebreak”, meanwhile, is an in-universe term in Control for massive chasms that prevent the spread of catastrophic paranatural phenomenon.

Though obviously there’s no indication in the trademark filing itself of what exactly FBC: Firebreak is, it doesn’t seem like too much of a stretch to assume that this is the co-op Control spinoff Remedy has been working on.

Remedy Entertainment has several more projects in the works and at different stages of production, including Control 2, Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake, and co-op title Kestrel. The developer will also release two expansions for Alan Wake 2 this year.

Condor, the co-op multiplayer title set in the Control universe, which was confirmed to be in the proof-of-concept stage until earlier this year, has now entered the “production readiness” stage, with Remedy saying it has “acquired valuable insights into developing service-based games”.

“Condor, a co-operative multiplayer game, has progressed from the proof-of-concept to the production readiness stage,” the developer says. “We have acquired valuable insights into developing service-based games and are now in a better position to create a game players can engage with for years

Meanwhile, Control 2, which was confirmed to be in development late last year, is still in the proof-of-concept stage. Remedy says it expects the game to “continue at this stage for the next few quarters”.

“Control 2 continues in the proof-of-concept stage,” Remedy says. “The plans for this sequel are ambitious, and we have seen good progress both in the designs and in the game build. We will continue at this stage for the next few quarters. We focus on proving the identified key elements before moving to the next stage and scaling up the team.”

Remedy Entertainment has also confirmed that Max Payne 1 and 2 Remake has also entered the production readiness stage, same as Condor.

In Remedy’s recently published fiscal report for 2022, CEO Tero Virtala said that starting this year, the developer plans to release one new game ever year for the foreseeable future, on top of “additional free and paid content” for released titles.

“Our roadmap for the medium term is now set, and our full focus is on executing the projects in the current games pipeline,” Virtala wrote. “The investments in our teams, Northlight game engine and tool set, support functions and external development are the key enablers for our next growth leap during the coming years. We are planning to launch a new game per year starting from 2023, accompanied by additional free and paid content.”

Remedy has a number of projects confirmed to be in development right now. Of those, Alan Wake 2 – the studio’s first ever survival horror game – will be the first to launch, with a release scheduled for sometime this year. The developer has also confirmed that Alan Wake 2 is now playable from start to finish and will soon be content-complete.

In addition to Alan Wake 2, Remedy Entertainment is also working on a free-to-play multiplayer shooter codenamed Vanguard, as well a standalone multiplayer spinoff of Control. A full-fledged single player Control sequel is also in development, while a remake of Max Payne 1 and 2 is also in the works.

However, it seems they’re still a ways off from release. While Condor is in the “proof-of-concept stage”, the bigger Control title is in the “concept stage.” Nevertheless, Remedy is excited for both projects as they “further expand Control into new games and game types.” The studio will be co-publishing Condor as part of its agreement with 505 Games “which enables us to build more commercial capabilities and strengthen our position in the value chain.”

Condor is currently in development for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC and utilizes the Northlight Engine. No details on the new Control project have been provided as yet. There are also rumors that Alan Wake 2 could be in production. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months regardless.

As such, it should come as no surprise that the Finnish developer is investing heavily in the Control IP, thanks to a continued partnership with publisher 505 Games. A 4-player co-op PvE spinoff of Control called Condor, which was announced quite recently, is in development. Meanwhile, Remedy also reiterates that “a future, bigger-budget Control game”, most likely to be a sequel, has also moved into the early stages of development, or as the developer calls it, “the early conception phase.”

Control is currently available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, Xbox One, PC, Stadia, and as a cloud-exclusive release for Nintendo Switch. Read our review of the original game through here, and our review of the Ultimate Edition re-release for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S through here.