Control Ultimate Edition explained: What is this new version of the game, and how much will you have to pay for the next-gen upgrade on PS5 or Xbox Series X?

Control, Remedy's most recent release, will soon receive its second DLC expansion, AWE - first revealed at the August State of Play that focused on PS4 and PSVR content, such as Hitman VR.

Since this trailer dropped, Remedy announced Control: Ultimate Edition. While Ultimate Editions are generally well-received, Remedy and 505 Games have since received criticism for their next-gen upgrade policy.

Here's everything we know about Control: Ultimate Edition.

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What is the Control: Ultimate Edition? How much will it cost?

The Control: Ultimate Edition will contain the base version of Control, released in 2019 and both expansions - The Foundation and the Alan Wake-inspired AWE DLC. Free updates and content such as Expeditions will also be included in the Ultimate Edition.

The Ultimate Edition is currently priced at $39.99/£34.99/€39.99.

What consoles is Control: Ultimate Edition coming to? When is the release date?

Control: Ultimate Edition is coming to PC, PS4, Xbox One, PS5 and Xbox Series X. The PC version will be available through both Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Steam players will be the first who have the opportunity to buy Control's Ultimate Edition, available on August 27. PS4, Xbox One and Epic Games Store users will need to wait until September 10 to buy the Ultimate Edition digitally.

The Ultimate Edition will not be available as a physical copy when it launches. 505 Games cited the global pandemic as causing disruption to its physical distribution. The publisher expects a physical copy to ship in late 2020.

505 Games also state that the Ultimate Edition will launch digitally on the next-gen consoles in late 2020 and will likely be available on Day One of the console's launches. 505 expect next-gen physical copies to ship in early 2021.

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How to play Control: Ultimate Edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X, is there a free upgrade to next-gen?

If you buy the Control: Ultimate Edition on Xbox One or PS4, you will be eligible for a free digital copy for the PS5 or Xbox Series X via Smart Delivery.

However, if you own Control and its expansions without the Ultimate Edition, you will not receive a free next-gen upgrade. 505 Games explained that the "free upgrade path to Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 version of Control is only available for Control Ultimate Edition."

However, if you own the base version, you will be able to play this on your PS5 or Xbox Series X, just without any graphical improvements.

As rumours speculate that Microsoft is pushing publishers not to charge for upgrades to next-gen, this seems to be a workaround of this policy by 505 Games. If Control fans want to play through Jesse's adventure with next-gen graphics, while they won't need to buy the game on a PS5 or Series X outright, they will need to splash out an extra $39.99 on the Ultimate Edition.

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UPDATE: Control team gives update on Ultimate Edition decision

After fans became outraged that they would not receive the next-gen upgrades through their copies of the game, 505 posted an update in an attempt to clarify the decision.

In the update entitled Control Ultimate Edition - an explanation, 505 explained that at "every avenue we pursued, there was some form of blocker and those blockers meant that at least one group of players ended up being left out of the upgrade for various reasons."

"As of today, we can’t offer an upgrade to everyone, and leaving any one group out feels unfair. We understand that is not what you want to hear."

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