Control Resonant gets a ChinaJoy trailer — and Remedy's melee pivot is hard to ignore

Control Resonant launches September 24, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store — and Remedy just dropped a new trailer at ChinaJoy 2026 that raises more questions than it answers. The sequel to the 2019 cult action game is shaping up to be one of the bigger releases of the year, with a campaign that runs roughly 30 hours and around 50 hours for completionists — double the original's length.

The setup

The story centers on Dylan Faden, Jesse's brother and the Bureau of Control's former prisoner, not Jesse herself. Manhattan has been warped by a supernatural catastrophe: buildings hang inverted at 90- and 180-degree angles, and the streets are overrun with Altered Items that escaped FBC headquarters. The ChinaJoy trailer opened with Jesse plunging an Altered Object — a shape-shifting artifact that takes the form of a dagger, hammer, or staff — into a comatose Dylan's chest, before cutting to an older Dylan waking up. Whether the game begins inside his mind or some other metaphysical space is, very deliberately, left unclear.

The combat shift

The biggest change from the original is mechanical. Control Resonant drops the telekinetic shooter formula almost entirely in favor of melee-focused combat per TechTimes (July 30), with lead designer Sergey Mohov citing Devil May Cry as a direct influence. That puts it closer to PlatinumGames territory than the original's Remedy-goes-Metroid feel. It's a real pivot, not a tweak — every piece of gameplay footage shown so far leans into chained combos and fluid melee rather than gunplay.

The ChinaJoy angle

The show at ChinaJoy included a full Chinese dub and region-specific outfit designs, per Alan Wake Info (August 1). Remedy's marketing has tilted noticeably toward Asia — the Western press got the release date reveal at Sony's State of Play in June, but the first dub reveal and exclusive cosmetics went to ChinaJoy. Annapurna Pictures is co-financing the project, which positions it well beyond typical mid-budget European studio territory.

Availability

Control Resonant releases September 24, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (Steam and Epic Games Store), with GeForce NOW support confirmed. Mac follows later in 2026. The PS5 Digital Deluxe edition ($69.99 / £69.99) includes 48-hour early access; standard edition is $49.99 / £49.99. Pre-orders are live now via the PlayStation Blog (June 2).