[Update: 10/19/2019] Remedy posted a tweet indicating that the removal of offline mode and Steam support was a “bug”, as reported by DSO Gaming. The game’s October update has been reverted.
We apologize for the current issues with Control on the Epic Games Store caused by the latest update. #ControlRemedy pic.twitter.com/XR54qe5Nns
— Control (@ControlRemedy) October 18, 2019
[Original article:] The last time we reported on this game revolved around how much the Epic Games Store paid for 505 Games and Remedy’s Control. Digital Bros. (parent company of 505 Games) revealed Epic paid £8.36 million / €9.49 million / $10.45 million respectively for the third-person shooter. As of now, the latest update for Control dubbed “1.04” brings with it DRM, and removes offline mode and Steam controller support.
Despite the game failing to make various top ten charts, Epic’s big boy Fortnite money has cushioned any potential fall so that the devs can churn out future updates without worry.
On the topic of churning out updates with covered expenses comes update 1.04, which makes sure that folks that love using Steam controllers are left out like those who enjoy the offline mode.
Accompanying all of that is the addition of DRM two months after launch.
According to website gamepressure.com and sub-Reddit r/Gaming, we learn that this nonsense is still ongoing and hasn’t been patched, addressed, or fixed.
The former website tries to fathom the contents added in update 1.04, and goes on to say that if you want to play the game without DRM, the always-online patch, and the newly added Photo Mode, then you can’t update your game:
“If you don’t like these changes, don’t update the game for now. Unfortunately, such a move means that you also have to make do without the photo mode, because it was added in the patch 1.04.”
The website goes on to further question why a dev team would add DRM post-launch. The writer believes it is to stop PC gamers from obtaining PS4 content, but to me, I think the whole ordeal is as piss poor as the game’s sales, but I digress:
“Implementation of a DRM software in the update is a difficult step to understand. The game launch without the protection, so its pirate versions are available from day one. The introduction of such solution is now long overdue. It is therefore possible that this was done with a view to the upcoming DLC expansions to be released next year. There has also been speculation that the reason for this is to prevent PC players from modifying their files in order to unlock items that are only available on PlayStation 4.”
Now, I should note to all the skeptic centrist™ that this isn’t a false alarm but something that is still ongoing. On r/Gaming, user Seanspeed stressed his caution that this is likely false:
“Has anybody else actually confirmed this? And that it’s purposeful?
Too many times these ‘PSA’s’ are people jumping the gun or misattributing issues to specific things based largely on speculation.”
To the skeptic’s query, user Sapient_Noodles had this to say:
“I just reinstalled it to check, and can confirm that offline mode does not work anymore, whether running the .exe directly, or through the launcher. If it wasn’t intentional, I hope it gets patched soon.”
At this point, the trio that is Epic Games Store, 505 Games, and Remedy shot themselves in the foot so that they no longer have a foot to shoot, but all five die-hard fans to scare away with their frenzy bullet-fest.
So there’s that. The £8.36 million / €9.49 million / $10.45 million by Epic is funding the support for this game like this patch 1.04, “Expeditions” which is a new game mode set for this December, the first expansion dubbed “The Foundation” set for release in early 2020, and a second expansion with the moniker “Awe” sometime in the mid-part of 2020.
(Thanks for the news tip Xrnzaaas)
