Annapurna and Remedy have announced a new partnership in which Annapurna will help bring Remedy’s Alan Wake and Control IP’s to the big and small screen, adapting the properties into film and TV shows.
A key part of the deal for players however is that Annapurna will be co-financing the development of Control 2, as part of the deal.
The news was announced by Remedy through a blog post on the studio’s website, where Remedy says it is “thrilled (as thrilled as Finnish can be)” to announce the new partnership.
“Remedy is thrilled (as thrilled as Finnish people can be) to announce that we are working together with Annapurna, who are co-financing the development of Control 2 and taking the Control and Alan Wake franchises to film, TV and beyond.
What does that mean for you, our dear fans? Above all it means Remedy is able to make Control 2 exactly the game we want it to be, while we now also have an incredible partner to extend our IPs to other mediums. We are also going to be publishing Control 2 ourselves. When I look at all the games we have in the pipeline, the future of Remedy is incredibly exciting. You can trust us to keep bringing you incredible video game experiences.”
It’s an important distinction that while Annapurna will be financing 50% of the development for Control 2, it’ll still be self-published by Remedy. In return for covering half of the development costs, the TV and film rights for Alan Wake and Control are passed over to Annapurna.
Both Alan Wake and Control are perfect IP’s to adapt into films and/or TV shows, so it’ll be really interesting to see what comes out of this partnership.
It also seems like a good matching of companies, as both studios have a track record of prioritizing storytelling in games and expanding the idea of what that can look like.
Hopefully it’s not too long before we start to hear about what’ll be coming first, a new film or a TV show.
Regarding the partnership, founder and chief executive officer of Annapurna Megan Ellison said “The future of storytelling requires seamlessly integrating gaming, film, and television, and this partnership will allow us to explore new ways of bringing these narratives to life.
By leveraging Remedy’s innovative narratives and immersive worlds, we can push the boundaries of how stories are told and experienced across mediums.”
For Remedy’s part, chief executive officer Tero Virtala added,
“This strategic partnership between Annapurna and Remedy is an important milestone and an exciting opportunity for us. We know Annapurna shares our passion for our IPs and the universes we have created. With award-winning movies such as Zero Dark Thirty and games like Stray, Annapurna’s expertise across film, TV, and video games makes them an ideal partner for us.
This agreement will ensure 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.”
Source – [Remedy Entertainment]