Control Resonant
Upcoming video game
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Control Resonant is an upcoming action role-playing game developed and published by Remedy Entertainment. It is a sequel to the 2019 game Control and is scheduled to release for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S on 24 September 2026, and for macOS later in 2026. The story follows Dylan Faden, a supernaturally abled "parautilitarian" who first appeared as a supporting character in Control, as he battles an invasion of hostile entities while searching for his estranged sister Jesse Faden.
| Control Resonant | |
|---|---|
| |
| Developer | Remedy Entertainment |
| Publisher | Remedy Entertainment |
| Director | Mikael Kasurinen |
| Producer | Juha Vainio |
| Designers |
|
| Programmer | Sean Donnelly |
| Artist | Elmeri Raitanen |
| Composer | Petri Alanko |
| Engine | Northlight Engine |
| Platforms | |
| Release |
|
| Genre | Action role-playing |
| Mode | Single-player |
Gameplay
Resonant is an action role-playing game. The player assumes control of Dylan Faden, who is released from captivity by the Federal Bureau of Control (FBC) to assist in their efforts to contain an escaped extradimensional entity that has taken control of downtown Manhattan. The game places an emphasis on melee combat in contrast to the third-person shooter elements of its predecessor: Dylan's primary weapon, the "Aberrant", can shapeshift into a variety of armaments.[1] Remedy described Resonant as an "open-ended" game, with the player being able to explore the city and complete optional quests and objectives.[2]
Development
In June 2021, Remedy Entertainment announced an agreement with 505 Games, the publisher of its 2019 game Control, to develop FBC: Firebreak, a multiplayer spin-off, and a "bigger-budget" project expanding the Control series.[3] In May 2022, the latter project was referenced under the codename "Heron" in Remedy's development roadmap.[4] In November, the company confirmed that "Heron" was a sequel to Control and unveiled the first concept art. Remedy announced a co-development and co-publishing deal with 505 Games for the title.[5] In February 2024, Remedy acquired full ownership of the Control series from 505 Games for €17 million.[6] In August, the company partnered with Annapurna Pictures to finance half of the sequel's development costs.[7] By that month, the game had reached the "production readiness stage".[8] In October, Control 2 was teased during an optional scene in the Alan Wake 2 expansion The Lake House.[9][10] Control 2's full production began in February 2025.[11] According to Remedy's annual report published in March, this phase is expected to last between 15 and 26 months, with a team size ranging from over 75 to 200 employees.[12] The initial development budget for the sequel is €50 million.[13] Remedy estimated that the game would need to sell between 3 and 4 million lifetime copies to reach a 100% return on investment.[14]
In March 2026, it was reported that Control Resonant was in the alpha development stage.[15] On 18 August 2026, Remedy announced that Control Resonant had "gone gold".[16]
Gameplay
Development on Resonant's gameplay was undertaken by Remedy's largest design team.[17] Control Resonant is an action role-playing game, with Remedy stating that they are "holding on to key tenets of storytelling and spectacle" from the first game while increasing player agency, exploration, and role-playing mechanics in the sequel.[18] Remedy had intended for the Control series to be role-playing games as the first game introduced side quests and dialogue choices but discarded core role-playing gameplay systems such as skill trees or character build systems.[19] Game director Mikael Kasurinen said that Control Resonant "fully commit[s]" to being an action role-playing game with its addition of character statistics, multiple talent trees and customisable weapons.[19] Remedy communications director Thomas Puha called Control Resonant's shift towards more action role-playing elements as a "a natural progression" for the studio.[20]
Resonant had a significantly different approach to its gameplay and storytelling perspective, shifting its combat model from a third-person shooter to being melee-focused and starring Dylan Faden as its lead protagonist, the sibling of protagonist Jesse Faden from the first game.[21] Kasurinen said that Control and Control Resonant "stand on their own feet, and they are like expressions of the two different siblings".[20] Dylan's melee weapon, called the Aberrant, is an expression of his different personality compared to Jesse's gun.[22] The Aberrant is able to shift into different forms with Dylan able to equip a total of three melee weapons with their own use cases.[23] Sergey Mohov served as the lead gameplay designer for Resonant. According to Mohov, Control Resonant is not an open world game but there are a number of "large, distinct, and expansive zones filled with side activities, hidden encounters, and optional discoveries".[24]
Narrative
Control Resonant is a narrative sequel taking place after the events of Control (2019). Remedy wanted the narrative to remain accessible to players who had not played the first game.[25][26] With the Control series, Kasurinen said the studio saw each game as representing "a lens into that world through different protagonists".[25] Remedy had always planned to create a game with Dylan as the protagonist but art director Elmeri Raitanen stressed that Remedy first sought to create the world of Control from a high-level as it "creates more organic characters".[27] Kasurinen said that Control Resonant was "deeply" inspired by Attack on Titan and Neon Genesis Evangelion that acted as narrative touchpoints.[28]
Technology
Control Resonant is being developed in Remedy's in-house Northlight Engine. With 2023's Alan Wake 2, Remedy reoriented its Northlight engine towards GPU-driven rendering, introducing mesh shaders and more accurate, single-pixel occlusion culling techniques to achieve greater levels of geometric detail and path traced lighting.[29] Control primarily took place indoors with the many reflective materials contained in the Oldest House's brutalist interior, Control Resonant takes place in larger outdoor areas in Manhattan with more diffused materials.[30]
Control Resonant supports path tracing on PC with Remedy collaborating with Nvidia on its implementation. Alongside path tracing, Remedy integrated Nvidia's RTX Mega Geometry system that accelerates the building of bounding volume hierarchies (BVHs) during ray tracing with high levels of geometry.[31] Higher detail is enabled through using nested cluster triangles, known as Cluster-Level Acceleration Structures (CLAS), within a BHV rather than the lower-resolution proxies for geometry normally included in ray tracing BVHs. The building of new BVHs when there is an LOD change is sped up through reconstructing BVHs with only the affected CLAS, reducing CPU overhead from BVH updates and management.[32] Remedy previously added RTX Mega Geometry to Alan Wake 2 in January 2025.[33]
Release
Control Resonant was announced at the Game Awards in December 2025 with a scheduled release in 2026 for macOS, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S.[34] During PlayStation's State of Play presentation on 12 February 2026, a gameplay trailer for Control Resonant was shown. On 2 June 2026, a trailer at a State of Play presentation announced Control Resonant's release date.[35] The trailer released on 5 June 2026, features song "Manalan mailla" ("In the Lands of the Underworld") by Finnish singer Vilma Jää.[36][37]
Control Resonant is set for release digitally on 24 September 2026 for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S with the physical release for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S coming on 15 October.[38] Control Resonant's Deluxe Edition grants 48-hour early access exclusively on PlayStation 5, beginning on 22 September.[39] Communications director Thomas Puha acknowledged that Control Resonant's busy September release is "challenging" due to competition from other titles releasing close to it like Silent Hill: Townfall and Onimusha: Way of the Sword.[40] To support the game, Remedy planned its largest marketing campaign.[41] The macOS version is scheduled for later in 2026.[42]
