If you already own developer Remedy’s Control or have bought any of the expansions on PS4 or Xbox One, we’ve got some rather bleak news.
A new 'Ultimate Edition' of the game has been announced for all platforms, including the PS5 and Xbox Series X, and is set to cost $39.99 (£34.99 / AU$54.99). It includes the base game, both of the expansions, as well as all content updates since release. And that’s it.
The problem is, if you own the standard version of Control, you won’t get a free upgrade to the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of the game. Only the Ultimate Edition is eligible, which is a firm smack in the face to anyone who picked up the game recently or at launch.
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So why is this the case? Honestly, there’s no clear answer. Control Ultimate Edition will undoubtedly look the same as the standard version when its released on current-gen consoles, so why can't the vanilla versions of the game take advantage of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, too? It just doesn’t seem right.
505 Games FAQ page fails to shed any light on the issue, and simply states: "The free upgrade path to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 version of Control is only available for Control Ultimate Edition."
Control yourself
It’s hard to look past the probability that this decision has been made in an attempt to glean more money from players by forcing them to double dip. It’s a practice that some corners of the community have feared, as video game publishers aren’t exactly in the habit of giving things away for free.
Xbox Smart Delivery and EA’s dual-entitlement program will let consumers upgrade their games to the next-gen versions for free, and the PS5 is also supporting some cross-gen game updates such as Dirt 5.
We’ve contacted Remedy and 505 Games for comment and will update this article once we hear more.
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