21st August 2018 [Gamescom 2018] Day #1 Wrap Up Nvidia Breakdown Post, Nominations, Community Artwork

Gamescom has officially started and while the first day hasn't been as hectic for the 505Games and Remedy Control team as E3, they've certainly been kept busy.

Before we start with today's news, we wanted to catch you up on the announcements from within the past twenty four hours. Yesterday evening, following Nvidia's Gamescom Briefing, 505Games uploaded a PC tech trailer showcasing ray-tracing in Control, along with the announcement that the game will be one of the first to support the Nvidia RTX GPUs. You can watch the trailer and read the official statement in full, HERE.

▼ Let's get on to today's news! So the reason we wanted to recap the events yesterday is due to Nvidia expanding on previous reveals. Today the company published a new blog post on their site breaking down how ray-tracing and the Nvidia RTX GPU will add realism to experience. The blog post comes with a new series of gorgeous screenshots. Some of those screenshots also make for some pretty perfect cosplay reference shots. (Although we have got hints on social media, that something in that department will be surfacing later.)

▼ In celebration of the new PC tech demo, the wonderfully talented Melissa (@melfpic on Instagram) uploaded her latest piece featuring Jesse Faden, and it's phenomenal. Check it out below and make sure to follow her account for more beautiful artwork!

New trailer ! ! ! ! 😭 👍👍👍👍 . . . #Control #ControlRemedy #jessefaden #Remedygames #RemedyEntertainment #fanart

A post shared by Melissa ▼ (@melfpic) on Aug 21, 2018 at 12:34am PDT

▼ 505Games posted a very quick booth tour on their Twitter page today, showing off their behind closed doors entrance and Control's eye-catching exterior display. Some sections of their booth are open to the public such as area for Overkill's The Walking Dead but as far as we can tell, the Control demo is still being shown in private demonstrations.

▼ It may be the first day, but Remedy got their first Game of the Show nomination early on. The nomination came from Guy Yuval from GamersPack, and presented to Twitter by Remedy's Head of Communications, Thomas Puha.

▼ While not strictly Remedy-related, a surprise announcement came today in the form of The Dark Pictures Anthology by Supermassive Games, the developers behind Until Dawn. While there's a lot of overlap between the two communities (both devs do psychological thrillers well!), another reason why it has interested a lot of Remedy fans is due to a cast member. It was announced today that Shawn Ashmore (who also played Jack Joyce in Quantum Break) will be acting in Supermassive's new game. So far little is known about the title as it was just announced, but we do know that it's part of collection of standalone horror titles and that the first game, Man of Medan. The game will launch in 2019 on PS4, XBOX One and PC.

▼ If you're heading to Gamescom this week, don't forget to keep checking back for new tweets from @ControlRemedy. They've been giving away Control merchandise today including some pretty sweet looking FBC badges.

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20th August 2018 Control: Nvidia's RTX Demo Showcase [PC Tech Demo] Statement and Demo Showcase

This evening, following the Nvidia Gamescom Briefing, 505Games and Remedy uploaded their latest trailer for Control, an NvidiaRTX demo showcasing ray-tracing.

In addition to a technology demo, the showcase is also packed with stunning new scenes and environmental shots from the game, which helps sets the mood for The Oldest House.

The video was accompanied with a statement announcing that Control will be one of the first games to support the new Nvidia RTX GPU, with Remedy adding ray-tracing to their upcoming game "starting with glossy Ray Traced Reflections, Ray Traced Diffuse Global Illumination and Contact Shadows for most influential light sources."

Check out the demo and statement below!


Original Announcement 
(via the ControlRemedy YouTube)

Control will be one of the first games to support the Nvidia RTX GPUs. We've added ray-tracing to Control, starting with glossy Ray Traced Reflections, Ray Traced Diffuse Global Illumination and Contact Shadows for most influential light sources.

The Bureau’s glossy office environments are a perfect showcase for Global Illumination and Reflections, enabling the realistic reflection of floors, walls and furniture, elevating image quality and immersion. And as ray traced reflections are based on the exact geometric detail and dynamic lighting of a scene, expect to see Control’s supernatural enemies and action fully reflected at a level of quality that was previously unobtainable.

With Ray-Traced Diffuse Global Illumination, we are able to enhance our existing Global Illumination system to deliver more accurate details, and also include lighting from dynamic light sources reflected from nearby surfaces in real time. As a result, even the smallest geometric details in a scene influence the indirect illumination with superior results.

And finally, we've utilized ray-traced contact shadowing to enhance non-RT shadows cast from lights with the highest intensity. By combining the two techniques, a scene’s most predominant shadows can be rendered at a higher level of detail than was previously possible. Additionally, ray-tracing enables rendering of accurate contact shadows from shadow casters outside of the camera’s field of view, enhancing immersion as the camera moves through the scene.

CONTROL is scheduled to release in 2019 for PS4/PS4 Pro, Xbox One/Xbox One X, PC (digital only).

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17th August 2018 Bi-Annual Remedy Financial Report H1-2018 Summary [Game Progression, Three Stage Strategy, Northlight]

This week, Remedy released their bi-annual financial report, with a live-streamed presentation in English accompanied by an in-depth forty seven page document in Finnish to comply with financing laws regarding IPOs.

During their hour long meeting held by Lauri Haavisto (Investor & Talent Relations), Tero Virtala (CEO), and Terhi Kauppi (CFO), a number of things was discussed ranging from how the studio has change over the first half of 2018, updated numbers for revenue and EBIT (Earnings Before Interest & Tax), and the progress made on titles in development.

For the studio, revenue was up at 9.2€ million (+11.1% over previously reported figures), and EBIT is down by -0.4€ million (-162.9% than previously reported figures). There were a number of reasons for additional expenditure throughout the first half of 2018, including two game projects (CROSSFIRE 2 and Control) being both in full production, the expansion of teams, investment into IPs (Control) and the recent move to a newly-renovated and custom studio built to the developer's current and future requirements.

There has been a number of further developments since the previous report in February 2018. The studio appointed Terhi Kauppi as the new Chief Financial Officer following Mika Reini's departure from the studio in late January. In March, Remedy announced their collaboration with NVIDIA on the Microsoft DirectX Raytracing (DXR) API. In May, the developers relocated following the completion of their new building at Olarinluoma, Espoo. And in June, Control, previously referred to by "P7", was announced at the Playstation E3 Media Briefing. The presentation also stated that the “Board decided on new option program targeted to key personnel” but didn't delve into further details on that aspect.

In the briefing, Remedy established a three tier strategy for success; 1) developing games that stand out and expand into franchises, 2) a multi-project studio model and 3) establishing a stronger position in the value chain. To maintain this, Tero talked about Remedy's strengths and goals; creating memorable characters and immersive stories, high quality action gameplay, new storytelling techniques and expansion to gameplay, and finally games that build a basis for a long-term franchise.

When it comes to current projects, both main projects have proceeded according to planned schedules, with CROSSFIRE 2 is in the polishing stage with the majority of development already complete, and Control announced at E3 2018 and with the predicted launch date of 2019. The third announced project, previously mentioned in Remedy's previous financial report back in February 2018, is still within early planning and negotiating with potential publishing partners.

Control, formerly known as "P7" or "Project Seven", was announced during the Playstation E3 Media Briefing. During the days that followed, there were 500 appointments with the international media, and the game received twenty five awards and nominations. Control's IP is owned by Remedy who is also responsible for part-financing and part-marketing for the title. The 505Games partnership deal was expanded on in the presentation with clarification given to the net revenue split; Remedy gets 45%, 505Games gets 55%. The game is still scheduled to be released in 2019.

Northlight is Remedy's in-house engine which supports all current and future projects, reducing the dependency on and licensing from external studios.  This section of the studio doesn't bring income into the company allows a custom engine for Remedy titles, greater independency for projects, and the potential for partnerships. The Northlight team is formed of approximately thirty five developers.

The studio is targeting hardcore gamers who game on console and PC, or "Big Screen Gamers". While their games have had a successful reception with Western markets, the partnership with Smilegate on CROSSFIRE 2, allows them to expand their audience (CROSSFIRE has 650 million registered players in 80 countries), and delve for the first time into first person and free to play markets.

Remedy now consists of 185 professionals, from twenty four different nationalities, working across three game projects and on a technology team. A number of those professionals are contractors with the total of Remedy employees at 164. 57% of the employees at the studio are Finnish, with 43% international developers who have relocated. On the topic of employment, in the first half of 2018, the studio received about 1300 job applications from candidates.


Quick Breakdown:

Remedy
 - The developers moved to a new custom office in Olarinluoma, Espoo.
 - There are 164 Remedy employees.
 - There are 185 professionals working at Remedy, including contractors.
 - Developers from twenty four nationalties make up the studio.
 - 57% of the studio is Finnish
 - 43% of the studio is made up of international developers who have relocated.
 - Revenue up at 9.2€ million (+11.1% over previously reported figures)
 - EBIT down by -0.4€ million (-162.9% than previously reported figures)
 - Fall in EBIT due to studio move, full production of two projects, team expansion
 - Remedy received 1300 job applications during H1-2018

Development
 - A multi-project studio was a major push for Remedy following Quantum Break.
 - CROSSFIRE 2 allows Remedy to expand their audience, experiment with first person and enter the free to play market.
 - Northlight reduces the need for licensing from studios and builds the way for potential partnerships.
 - Control began development in early 2016
 - CROSSFIRE 2 began development in late 2015


Games
 - CROSSFIRE 2 and Control are proceeding according to schedule.
 - CROSSFIRE 2 is in the polishing stage, majority of development is complete.
 - Control's marketing is underway following the announcement of the game at E3 2018.
 - Distribution, marketing, and communications for CROSSFIRE are all Smilegate's responsibility.
 - After it's reveal at E3 2018, there were 500 appointments with media outlets to talk about Control.
 - At E3 2018, Control received approximately twenty five awards and nominations.
 - Control is still set for a 2019 launch and released simulataneously

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7th August 2018 Control Developer Diary #3: The Oldest House

Today Remedy uploaded the third episode in Control's ongoing Developer Diary series. This time the group shares details about what players can expect as they explore The Oldest House.

Like the previous two episodes, the latest video features interviews with a number of Remedy including Sam Lake (Creative Director), Paul Ehreth (Lead Designer), Mikael Kasurinen (Game Director), Anna Megill (Narrative Lead), and Thomas Puha (Head of Communications), as they discuss the new setting, the brutalist architecture that inspired the game's look, and the numerous layers the FBC building has in-store for players.

In case you missed it: in the first episode, the team talked about how they approached Control's world and how they changed their approach to narrative while still focusing on the story.  In the second episode they delved deeper into the gameplay and allowing the player to explore their own path.

Control is set to launch in 2019 on Playstation 4, PC and XBOX One.  

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