Video game piracy groups are banding together to support Remedy Entertainment with the release of Control Resonant, the studio’s new open-world action game.
The studio’s first game following the sales disaster of FBC Firebreak, a lot is riding on the success of Control Resonant. Fans of the studio have done their own armchair accounting as well, estimating that the game needs to sell around 2.5 million copies to keep the studio afloat.
Unfortunately for the studio, Control Resonant’s deck was stacked against it. Not only has the game launched in an exceptionally busy period, but the full game leaked, fully cracked online just before launch. While most leaks would see pirates jump on board, video game piracy groups are urging a kind of ceasefire to protect the studio.
“One of the very few games I’m going to be buying, Remedy are on the brink of bankruptcy, this is their make or break title, I love their games and gotta do what I can to keep them afloat,” one gamer said as the game leaked. (Note: for legal reasons, we cannot link to sources of piracy where these discussions are had.)
“I wasn’t planning to buy it, but now I feel like I should. like Remedy. They do good games,” another said. “Yes, not every game needs to be pirated,” added another.
In another discussion about the leaks, another pirate also urged others to support the iconic game developer. “I feel like this is one of the games which you shouldn’t pirate if you can,”they said. “Remedy makes unique, innovative games, they need this funding.”
The push to continue supporting the Alan Wake developer in the wake of its financial struggles is endearing, although some in the piracy community have not agreed with this stance. With that said, the overwhelming sentiment is that Control Resonant should be supported if fans have the means to do so.
Remedy Entertainment has struggled over the years, despite its high-quality output. Alan Wake 2 needed funding from Epic Games just to be made, which then led the game’s PC version to be an Epic Games Store exclusive, which resulted in low sales. While Control was a breakout success, prior games, such as Quantum Break, failed to catch on.
Nevertheless, there is hope that Remedy, and its fantastic Northlight technology, will be able to continue long into the future. Alongside Control Resonant, the studio has been working on its long-awaited Max Payne and Max Payne 2 remakes, which still have no release date at the time of writing.
At the time of writing, Control Resonant has seemingly performed well, marking Remedy’s biggest launch success on Steam. The open-world action has is currently the second-best performing game in Steam’s new releases category, and has reached an all-time peak of 35,000 concurrent players.
