When is Control Coming to Xbox Game Pass? | Game Rant
In August of 2019, Remedy Entertainment and 505 Games released the action-adventure title Control. Although the game received mostly positive reviews across the board, Control was overshadowed by other big games that were released around the same time and did not garner the widespread attention that its developers were hoping for. This is despite the aforementioned Control reviews.
To the uninitiated, Control revolves around the mysterious Federal Bureau of Control, which monitors and studies supernatural phenomena that violate the laws of reality. As Jesse Faden, who becomes the bureau's new Director, players are tasked to explore the Oldest House and utilize powerful abilities to defeat a deadly enemy known as the Hiss. Remedy Entertainment is also planning to release two DLC expansions for the game, with the first one called The Foundation, scheduled to release on March 20, 2020.
Given its lackluster commercial performance, many believed that Control will be heading to the Xbox Game Pass, especially after Xbox Head Phil Spencer let slip last year during a Mixer live stream that the game will be heading to Microsoft's game streaming service soon. "I thought Control was really good, it didn't reach enough people so I'm glad to see it's coming into Game Pass so hopefully more people play it," Spencer said during the live stream and proceeded to comment on the strong relationship between Xbox and Remedy.
However, immediately after Spencer's unofficial announcement, publisher 505 Games and the Xbox Game Pass team quickly backpedaled and revealed on Twitter that Control is not coming to Game Pass after all. In a statement, the publisher confirmed that it "currently has no news or announcements regarding Xbox Game Pass at this time." So does that mean Control won't be coming to Xbox Game Pass soon? Officially, the answer to that is yes, but looking at the grand scheme of things, it appears that there is more to it than meets the eye.
Although Spencer's claim that Control is heading to Xbox Game Pass soon appears to be unintentional, it is unlikely for the head of Microsoft's Xbox division to make such claims if there has been no agreement between Xbox Game Pass and 505 Games to release Control on Microsoft's streaming service in the first place. It is possible that Spencer made the announcement earlier than intended, which is why both Xbox and 505 were forced to intervene and rebuke the claim Spencer made during the live stream.
Now, several months have passed since the Mixer live stream incident, and Control is still nowhere to be found in Xbox Game Pass' library. However, a recent tweet released by the official Xbox Game Pass account appears to have ignited the interest of players who are hoping to see Control in Microsoft's streaming service. While the tweet didn't specifically mention this, the way the post was made appears to suggest the forthcoming inclusion of Remedy's action-adventure title to Xbox Game Pass. The tweet reads "February is going to be a really good month", and used different fonts to say the word "really". Of course, this is just pure speculation at this point, but players who have experienced the bizarre world of Control would know that the game utilized different fonts to create a creepy atmosphere.
Looking over the comments, it appears that some Twitter users figured out the cryptic tweet, given that a few of them also noticed the different fonts used in the post. That said, if Xbox Game Pass is indeed pertaining to Control in its tweet, then it is safe to say that players subscribed to Microsoft's streaming service could get access to Remedy's Control as early as February, which is just several days from now. Of course, the post could also be pertaining to a different game, but given the way the tweet is composed, it is not entirely unlikely that Control could be heading to the Xbox Game Pass soon.
On the flip side, there is also the fact that Remedy Entertainment is still not done with Control in its current form. As previously mentioned, the studio is currently developing two DLC expansions for the game, with one scheduled to release in March this year. Having said this, it is possible that Remedy wouldn't want to release Control, which is barely a year old to the Xbox Game Pass too soon. This is because of the fact the studio may want to push sales of the base game as much as possible, given the upcoming release of new content that may revive the interest of players who still haven't picked up the game.
Nonetheless, the only sure way to know if Control is indeed coming to the Xbox Game Pass is to wait for Microsoft to reveal the lineup of new games heading to the service in February. If Control is still nowhere to be found, then it is safe to say that the game may not be heading to Xbox Game Pass anytime soon.
Control is out now for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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