505 Games has defended its decision to charge paying customers again for the next-gen upgrade version of Control, the latest game from Remedy. Last month, the publisher announced that those who had already purchased the game were not eligible to get the upgrade for free, effectively making early adaptors purchase the game again.
The publisher went to great lengths to prove that upgrading existing owners for free was downright impossible, and that “there was some form of blocker,” preventing owners to gain access to the Xbox Series X/S version or PlayStation 5 version. 505 Games goes on to mention that “those blockers meant that at least one group of players ended up being left out of the upgrade for various reasons.”
It was never clarified what those blockers were or even who would be left out by these decisions. Several outlets contacted 505 Games for clarification but none heard back.
And for the most part, people grumbled and everybody went about their day. That is until a thread on ResetEra appeared last Thursday, September 10. In that thread, dozens of users and people on Twitter noticed that they had access to Control Ultimate Edition, without having to purchase the new version of Remedy’s game.
Went on to the ps4 store new release area it says I own the control ultimate edition, I purchased the deluxe edition back at launch pic.twitter.com/ThRkPwTcA3
— Mark Greenwalt Jr (@Margrnwjr) September 10, 2020
@remedygames I have the deluxe version of control on PS4 and when I go to buy the ultimate edition it says install? Doesn't let me buy it
— M A R N S (@marnsx16) September 10, 2020
Speculation led to the assumption that 505 Games had figured out the situation and were in fact, offering the new Ultimate Edition for free to existing customers. That turned out to be red herring because not long after this happened, the publisher revoked access for those who had accessed the game on PlayStation.
Not long after, the news has spread to outlets around the globe and but by the looks of things, it looks like the publisher has been caught with their hands in the cookie jar and with more than a handful of cookies. Even Jim Sterling commented on the fiasco and as of this post’s publishing date, 505 Games have been radio silent on the matter.
To make matters even worse, the new fuel has been added to the fire when a review code for Control Ultimate Edition is irredeemable on the PlayStation Store. I’ve reached out to the PR team for clarification on why the digital storefront is claiming I already own the game and whether or not this a separate SKU for Control.
I’ve yet to receive any clarification but while I’ve waited, I reached out to Sony’s live chat to see if they had any insight. While this is only a regular live chat, this is what I was told when the code was examined.
It should be stated that I purchased the vanilla version of Control last year on my personal account and also the season pass. Upon investigating, the team member at Sony confirmed that the version I own and the Ultimate Edition are indeed the same and share the same license, and I “cannot own the license twice,” and “all the content is the same that code has.”
This situation gets weirder and weirder and 505’s silence is deafening.
Anyone who expects to get a game that is for all intents and purposes, a remastered version, on the next generation of consoles for free is an idiot. The game will be well over a year old by the time xsx and ps5 drops. 5 years ago, these people would be laughed at for expecting something like that. If you want perks like that, get a pc and you would have had it from the start. Maybe a discounted upgrade like they did with Observer. I bought the core game (Observer, not Control) for around $8 and got the System Redux upgrade for $6 or $7. Anyway, all I’m saying is that people shouldn’t expect anything for free. It costs 505 money to make all of those next gen changes and someone has to pay for it. If you expect a complete version of a game, wait for the gold/ultimate/GOTY edition.
I cant and wont try defend 505’s apparent lie. But I wonder why so many feel entitled to a free upgrade in the first place. If I own an old CD, I dont demand Sony give me the same music in streaming format. If I buy a 2019 Honda, I dont expect a free upgrade when the 2020 version is released. Every gamer knows new consoles are just down the road. Buy what you want and be happy and move on.
I kinda figured it was fake, unless they really didn’t know how to getg it to work.
Depends on game and company but most are same nowdays.
Like witcher3 everyone is getting free upgrade anyways, or like doom played on every system.
People can now buy games and upgrade them later, or buy games where devs might give out a remastered for free or cheaper if you own the base price.
If they said we are only giving it free to ultimate edition that’s fine but it’s the lie most likly. Saying they can’t even though personally I know they could.
Heck one person won from charity event every Sega game released and future titles for life. Still sad I didn’t win that.
The rep clearly has no idea what they’re talking about as the content is different between the Digital Deluxe and Ultimate Edition.
Well on the xbox there is only a 10.1mb dl between standard and ultimate upgrade. I have the disc version and just purchased the Ultimate via Xbox store..
Here is what I take from it… Everyone has ultimate ed. But you need the new license that is the 10.1mb dl.
Sad but true.