Control Resonant as a Serious Test of Remedy's New Business Model: Pros and Pitfalls of Self-Publishing by the Numbers

To mark the release of Control Resonant, we decided to take a closer look at how the project fits into Remedy's transition to self-publishing games. We will discuss the metrics of the new release, compare its financial model with previous titles, and analyze how the ROI for the Finnish studio changes under various conditions.

The Road to Control Resonant's Release: Pre-orders, Wishlists, and Marketing

Interest in Remedy's new game was evident immediately after its announcement at The Game Awards 2025. Within six days, nearly 500,000 Steam users added Control Resonant to their wishlists.

Since then, the project steadily gained momentum on PC and consoles, and Remedy conducted what was possibly the most extensive marketing campaign in its history. Apart from the December announcement, there were three key stages:

• June — State of Play, Summer Game Fest, release date announcement, and pre-orders launch (June 2);
• July–August — developer diaries, ChinaJoy, Gamescom, previews by media outlets and bloggers worldwide;
• September — final advertising activities and press reviews.

Spikes in marketing activity were reflected in the growth of Control Resonant wishlists:

• December 17 — 492,000 wishlists (Steam only);
• August 11 — 1.5 million wishlists (all platforms);
• September 22 — 2 million wishlists (all platforms).

How these were distributed across platforms is unknown. However, according to Gamalytic estimates, by the release on September 24, more than 1.2 million people had added the Steam version of Control Resonant to their wishlists (about 60% of the total). The game ranked 19th in the list of the most anticipated releases in the store, surpassing projects such as The Expanse: Osiris Reborn, Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, and The Witcher 3: Songs of the Past.