This year, Remedy announced that they will be moving away from bi-annual financial reports in favour of quarterly reviews. As a result, investors will be able to follow the progress more closely at the studio.
The first Q1 review was published back in May and covers the first three months of 2021. Their H1 report, published this week, covers the company's activity from January to June and clarifies the progress of internal game projects and milestones. The full version, along with a presentation by the studio's Tero Virtala (CEO) and Terhi Kauppi (CFO), can be found on their investors' page, HERE.
As we covered Q1 2021 last month, we're primarily going to be focusing on the differences in Q2 2021. To catch up on Remedy's progress in Q1, check out our notes, HERE!
Achievements (Q2 2021)
Control Reception. Control has gained a strong player base with 10 million players exploring The Oldest House.
Royalty Revenue. Control royalty revenue was higher in Q2 2021 compared to Q1 2020.
New Streaming Platform Explored. Control Ultimate Edition was released on Google Stadia on July 27th.
Q1 2021 Achievements: Control launched on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in the first few months of 2021, with the digital edition launching February 2nd, and the physical edition launching March 2nd. The game later came to PlayStation+ and Xbox Game Pass, and was also a spolighted title as part of the monthly Humble Choice.
Internal Developments (Q2 2021)
Confirmation of Condor Deal. Remedy has signed a co-publishing and development deal with 505Games. The agreement covers Condor, a multiplayer spinoff game in the world of Control. The title has been revealed as a four-player cooperative title with PvE (Player versus Environment) style gameplay.
New Control Title. Alongside a deal with Condor, 505Games is also working with Remedy on a "future, bigger budget" Control title.
Epic Game Projects. In collaboration with Epic Games, Remedy is working on a new AAA game and a smaller game set in the same world, which will be released for consoles and PC. Both projects are fully funded by the publishers, with net revenue split 50/50. Remedy's unannounced AAA project and second smaller-scale game are both in full production mode.
Revenue & Operating Profit. The revenue grew to €9.4 million, a change of +3.2 %. The studio had an operating profit (EBIT) of €2.3 million euros, 24.5 % of revenue.
Studio Size. The headcount at Remedy was 293 by the end of June 2021, following their new pilot approach to attract and recruit talent. Of the 293 developers, 52% are from 29 different nationalities, with the rest being from Finland.
Predictions For 2021 (Following Q2)
Crossfire Series. Crossfire HD and CrossfireX are set to launch later this year. Crossfire's HD multiplayer mode has already launched in China by Smilegate and Tencent back in June.
Revenue. Revenue and operating profit are expected to increase in the second half of 2021.
Recap / 2020 Achievements & 2021-2025 Studio Goals
Heading into 2021, Remedy had gone from working on-site to working remotely, a decision made by management in the early stages of the year following the spread of Covid-19 globally. Despite this, work continued on both DLC packs for Control, The Foundation and AWE which launched later that year. Crossfire X's Operation Spectre, a campaign developed by Remedy in collaboration with Smilegate and Microsoft was also teased at the Xbox Games Showcase in July. While it was a difficult year, there were also things to celebrate as 2021 also saw the twenty-fifth anniversary of the company and the tenth anniversary of Alan Wake, two significant milestones.
While many industries financially struggled throughout the pandemic, the gaming industry was one of the few that accidentally thrived, with more people seeking escapism in digital worlds. Throughout the year, Remedy worked on five main games, in fifteen separate projects, across ten platforms.
As we learned from Remedy's Capital Market Day from December 9th 2020, the studio publicly announced its new studio goals for the years ahead. While the previous few years have been dedicated to strengthening its position as a multi-project developer, the Board has established the key stepping stones that would define success internally going ahead. These goals include:
- Successful launch of well-received games, with the goal of one major hit.
- The growth of Remedy-owned IPs with long-term potential (e.g. spin-offs, sequels, or expansions)
- Strengthening the studio's position to select the ideal distribution for each project (e.g. self-financing, self-publishing, and working with partners).
- Strengthening Remedy's status and value within Europe.
- Maintaining a profitable and growing studio
