Control Resonant still doesn't have a release date, but with a 2026 release window and the year nearing its halfway point, Remedy is inching dangerously close to GTA 6's launch orbit. Rockstar has said GTA 6 will be the biggest launch in video game history, and that's not even braggadocious of them to say, which would make many game developers second guess scheduling a launch anywhere near it. On the other hand, the launch of GTA 6 will be a giant moment for the game industry as a whole, which could indirectly benefit other developers if a whole bunch of lapsed gamers return to the medium. That's the hope of Remedy's new CEO, Jean-Charles Gaudechon, anyway.
Talking to The Game Business, Gaudechon shrugs off concerns that GTA 6 could overshadow Control Resonant if they both end up launching this year. Instead of trying to compete with GTA 6, Remedy is playing the long game by hoping Rockstar's behemoth will "raise the tide" and bring renewed interest to console games.
"It's a year, I believe, that's going to raise the tide. It's going to put the spotlight even more on games than maybe in past years," says Gaudechon. "Hopefully [GTA] will sell consoles. And raise the tide for all the players out there.
"[For us], it's less about trying to make your money back in a few days," he adds. "Now you've got multiple ways to have a longer tail. It's going be fun. You can expect quality from us. You can expect a voice that will cut through the noise. Expect us to be as loud as we can and hopefully pique people's interest."
It's an interesting approach, and not without merit. Remedy has an extremely dedicated player base that'll anticipate the studio's releases no matter what, and Control Resonant isn't a competitor to GTA 6 by any metric anyway. It's not unreasonable to expect GTA 6 to attract a ton of non-gamers and casual gamers who could very well play through Rockstar's latest and then look for something else to play afterward. And if Remedy is able to cut through the noise as Gaudechon hopes, its games will be waiting for them at the top of GOTY lists, as the first Control was in 2019.
"We're not going to play safe," teases Gaudechon.
