When it unlocked, by the clock
| Where | Local time | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles (Pacific) | 7:00am | 24 September |
| New York (Eastern) | 10:00am | 24 September |
| UTC | 14:00 | 24 September |
| London (BST) | 3:00pm | 24 September |
| Berlin, Madrid, Paris (CEST) | 4:00pm | 24 September |
| Tokyo (JST) | 11:00pm | 24 September |
| Sydney (AEST) | 12:00am | 25 September |
Where those times come from
Remedy published a global launch map, credited to the @ControlRemedy account. The UK and European rows are press conversions of it. Nvidia gives the same 7am Pacific for PC and GeForce NOW, and Remedy's FAQ on Steam gives New Zealand's date as 25 September. The PS5 Digital Deluxe early access opened at the same hour on 22 September.
The dates, in order
| Date | What happened, or happens | Source |
|---|---|---|
| June 2021 | Remedy and 505 Games agree on FBC: Firebreak and a bigger-budget Control project. | Reported |
| May 2022 | The bigger project appears on Remedy's roadmap as Heron. | Reported |
| November 2022 | Heron confirmed as a Control sequel; first concept art. | Reported |
| February 2024 | Remedy buys full rights to Control from 505 Games for €17 million. | Reported |
| August 2024 | Annapurna Pictures agrees to finance half of the development. | Reported |
| October 2024 | Control 2 teased in an optional scene of Alan Wake 2's The Lake House expansion. | Reported |
| February 2025 | Full production begins. | Reported |
| 11 December 2025 | Announced as Control Resonant at The Game Awards, for 2026. | PlayStation Blog |
| 12 February 2026 | Gameplay trailer at State of Play; first gameplay details. | PlayStation Blog |
| 4 March 2026 | Combat, buildcrafting and player-choice deep dive. | PlayStation Blog |
| 30 April 2026 | New Game Plus detailed. | PlayStation Blog |
| 8 May 2026 | Xbox Play Anywhere confirmed; Remedy confirms it is self-publishing. | Xbox Wire |
| 2 June 2026 | Release date revealed with a story trailer at State of Play; pre-orders open. | Remedy, PlayStation Blog |
| 25 July 2026 | Cast panel at San Diego Comic-Con. | Reported |
| 11 August 2026 | Remedy reports over 1.5 million wishlists and a top-three pre-order ranking on PlayStation in the US, Germany and Brazil. | Remedy's half-year report |
| 18 August 2026 | The game goes gold. | Reported |
| 9 and 10 September 2026 | Full PC requirements, including ray and path tracing. | Remedy's spec sheet, as reported |
| 10 September 2026 | Assist Mode detailed. | PlayStation Blog |
| 15 September 2026 | PS5 and PS5 Pro modes detailed. | PlayStation Blog |
| 18 September 2026 | Review embargo lifts. | Review dates |
| 22 September 2026 | Remedy reports over 2 million wishlists across all platforms. | Remedy |
| 22 September 2026 | PS5 Digital Deluxe early access opens, 7am Pacific. | PlayStation Store |
| 24 September 2026 | Worldwide launch on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, Epic and GeForce NOW, 7am Pacific. | Remedy, Nvidia |
| 24 September 2026 | Launch hotfix 1.3.3: lower base health and Falter (stun) thresholds for most enemies and for the Dancer and Deserter bosses, higher maximum Aberrant Strength and Ability Strength, cheaper respeccing with more Reset Items at vendors, and two Reset Items from the Artist boss instead of one. | Remedy's hotfix notes |
| 1 October 2026 | Update 1.4.0 on every platform: New Game++ for unlimited runs, Build Power shown on the Loadout screen, 10–15% less combat in the Unknown Zone, a Power Core Charge Duration option in Assist Mode, seven save slots instead of five, and performance work aimed at PC minimum and recommended specs. | Remedy's update notes |
| 2 October 2026 | Hotfix 1.4.1, for two things 1.4.0 broke: the Park Resonant quest could not be finished because its Mold could not be eaten, and a Dash's momentum no longer carried into Elevate. Both are fixed. | Remedy's hotfix notes on Steam |
| 8 October 2026 | Hotfix 1.4.2, for more problems 1.4.0 brought: Zoe could go missing in The House in Distress and stall the quest; you could be stuck in the Gap after beating the Artist Resonant and leaving to the main menu before choosing an ability; Busken could not be asked about Underhill; Every Dog Has Her Day gave no artifact, which is now handed out to anyone who finished it, unless they have started New Game+; a Firebreaker you protect could just stand around; and Burn hit Dylan too hard with the Wallet artifact when out of Power. Subtitle timing and localization fixes in every language too. | Remedy's hotfix notes on Steam |
| 15 October 2026 | Remedy announces one million copies sold. | Remedy's post on Steam |
| 15 October 2026 | Physical Standard and SteelBook editions on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. | Remedy's launch-trailer release |
| Later in 2026 | Mac version, through Steam and the App Store. | Remedy |
The reviews, as the aggregators give them
| Aggregator | Score | Read on |
|---|---|---|
| Metacritic, PS5 | 83, from 82 critic reviews | Metacritic, 7 October |
| Metacritic, PC | 83, from 49 critic reviews | Metacritic, 7 October |
| Metacritic, Xbox Series X | 81, from 11 critic reviews | Metacritic, 7 October |
| OpenCritic | Top Critic Average 83, 86% of critics recommend, Strong, 114 reviews | OpenCritic, 7 October |
The reviews, outlet by outlet
| Outlet | Score | How we know it |
|---|---|---|
| VGC (Jordan Middler) | 5/5 | Read the review |
| Push Square (Aaron Bayne) | 8/10 | Read the review |
| Kotaku (Cole Kronman) | Not scored | Read the review |
| GameSpot | 9/10 | Reported score |
| Destructoid | 9/10 | Reported score |
| PCGamesN | 9/10 | Reported score |
| Giant Bomb | 4.5/5 | Reported score |
| IGN (Michael Higham) | 8/10 | Reported score |
| RPGamer | 4/5 | Reported score |
| PC Gamer (Lincoln Carpenter) | 76/100 | Reported score |
| GamesRadar+ | 3/5 | Reported score |
| Eurogamer (Alexis Ong) | 3/5 | Reported score |
What the reviews agree on
- The look: the art direction, the folded city and the environments are the most consistent praise, from the 5/5s to the 8/10s.
- The cast: Sean Durrie and Courtney Hope are singled out.
- The combat is the split. Some reviewers find it expressive and demanding; others find it wearing thin over the later hours, and one thinks the move to action RPG cost the series something.
- The late game: one review found the third act's pacing and the final bosses weaker, and another found some side activities repetitive near the end.
After launch
🔧 Updates as needed
Remedy's FAQ calls the game a complete experience at launch and promises updates and improvements as needed. Its first post-launch plans, on 25 September, list New Game++ for October, a Photo Mode for November and more cosmetics for Dylan, with no date for the last. A launch-day hotfix (1.3.3), update 1.4.0 on 1 October, hotfix 1.4.1 on 2 October and hotfix 1.4.2 on 8 October have followed; all four are in the table of dates above.
🌐 Arabic localization
Arabic interface and subtitles are coming some time after launch, with a date to be announced (Remedy's CONTROL account on X, as indexed by search; we could not open the post itself).
🍎 Mac
Later in 2026 through Steam and the App Store. No date yet.
❓ Expansions
None announced, and no source we read says whether any are planned.
❓ New Game Plus
In the launch build, for one further run; New Game++, for repeated runs, arrived with update 1.4.0 on 1 October.
Cross-checked
Cross-checked on 23 September 2026 and re-checked on 2, 7, 9 and 17 October 2026 against Remedy's posts (the one-million post of 15 October among them), FAQ, launch-trailer release, half-year report, post-launch plans, launch hotfix notes, update 1.4.0 notes and hotfix 1.4.1 and 1.4.2 notes, the Spanish-language coverage of Eurogamer.es and Vandal, Noisy Pixel, the PlayStation Blog, Xbox Wire, Nvidia's GeForce news post, the Metacritic and OpenCritic pages, and the coverage of Wikipedia, Vice, Game Rant, DSOGaming, TweakTown, The Outerhaven, VGC, Push Square, Kotaku and PC Gamer. The Arabic localization comes from a search-indexed post on Remedy's X account that we could not open. Not from a playthrough: nobody here has played it, and what the sources do not describe is not on this page.