Annapurna Pictures is putting its wallet behind Remedy Entertainment’s Control 2, and will help the Finnish developer turn its two franchises into transmedia properties.
Both studios have entered a “strategic partnership agreement” wherein Annapurna will cover 50 percent of the sequel’s development budget. In turn, it now has the rights to “expand” Control and Alan Wake into film, TV, and “selected audiovisuals.”
This follows on from Remedy CEO Tero Virtala saying both franchises would be expanded upon earlier this year, and Remedy gaining the full franchise rights to Control back in February.
Remedy and Annapurna strike a deal
According to the terms of the deal, Remedy gets a greater revenue share from Control 2’s sales after initial investments are recouped. Meanwhile, the future “audiovisual productions” will yield greater revenue on Annapurna’s end.
“This strategic partnership between Annapurna and Remedy is an important milestone and an exciting opportunity for us,” wrote Virtala. “This ensures we can develop Control 2 into the best game possible, allow us to move into self-publishing for selected titles and expand our franchises to other mediums.”
For Annapurna, this technically marks its second game to adapted into film or TV. Last year, it revealed it would be bringing BlueTwelve’s sci-fi cat adventure Stray to the big screen, and indicated other titles could be adapted.
As of early August, Control 2 was in the production readiness stage. However, Remedy’s immediate focus on its multplayer spinoff “Condor,” along with contract work remaking the first two Max Payne games for Rockstar.
Earlier this week, the original Control turned five years old. As far as which medium it or Alan Wake will go to, the press release is tight-lipped.