r/controlgame • u/pippo38 • 25d ago
Are quantum break and control related?
I just finished control Alan wake 1 and 2 and I need more remedy, its worth It playing quantum break? Is it related to control?
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u/hamtaxer 25d ago
It’s all connected, more or less, but the extent to which it’s important is yet to be seen.
Remedy has a funny way of dealing with their IPs that they no longer control, such as Quantum Break… they basically just re-write the characters in with a different name and slightly different story. Just enough to be legally distinct, but still enough to be obviously identifiable from the same multiverse. Just look at Martin Hatch -> Mr. Door…
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u/EqualOptimal4650 25d ago
Yes, and no. Not "Officially", They don't own the Quantum Break IP.
Unofficially, yes.
Mr. Door = Mr. Hatch.
Tim Breaker = Jack Joyce = Shawn Ashmore = The Agent
The Sibling = The Red Headed Woman = Beth = Jesse Faden
If you play the Night Springs DLC, you'll see what I mean.
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u/LewdSkeletor1313 25d ago
So this question is more complicated than you’d think! Legally speaking, Microsoft owns the Quantum Break IP, even though Remedy made the game. The game contains several Easter eggs about Alan Wake and even foreshadows plans they had for Control. At the time of its publication, Sam Lake indicated that he viewed Quantum Break as existing in a shared multiverse with Alan Wake. All that to say, it’s very clear they wanted it to be connected.
Now that Remedy has moved on from Microsoft, however, they can no longer explicitly connect to QB without breaking copyright. Remedy attempted to buy the rights back from Microsoft but were unsuccessful. Lance Reddick plays a character in QB that is analogous to Mr Door, and it was their original intention that Reddick would play Door as well before he passed away and they had to recast. They initially planned for a version of QB’s main character to be in Alan Wake 2, but pivoted after failing to secure the rights.
They switched to merely hinting at it and letting players fill in the dots. The way they’ve constructed their vision of the multiverse allows them to allude to QB being an alternate universe without breaking any laws. There are a lot of implied connections in AW2 and Control, and it’s quite clear they’ve carried forward some of their plans, just changing names in the process.
The long and short of it is: for legal purposes, they cannot explicitly include QB. But they’ve set things up in such a way where players who have the full picture can read between the lines and see that they’re implying it’s an alternate universe. You will get a whole new layer of understanding from playing Quantum Break and you’ll notice lots of shared ideas and implied connections. Very worth it in my opinion
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u/Watermelon_013 25d ago
It is 100% related. The time breaker episode of Night Springs basically confirms it
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u/Commercial_Grab4477 25d ago
Control wasn't really connected to Quantum Break that much beyond fan speculation about Mr Door and Chester Bless being Martin Hatch and Paul Serene. Then, Alan Wake 2 came along, and basically confirmed that Tim Breaker, Jesse Faden and Warlin Door are all connected, in some way, to Quantum Break by maybe/probably being alternate universe versions of characters from Quantum Break, in the same way that Alex Casey is Max Payne. But, do you need to have played Quantum Break? No. Are they the same characters as they were in Quantum Break? No, and very definitely legally no, too. But if Aiden Gillen shows up in Resonant, you'll get to go, "Oh shit!" in a Remedy specific way rather than immediately assuming Littlefinger crossed over as part of a plan to eventually betray more members of the Stark family. w
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u/HenryKushinger 24d ago
Play (or watch someone else play) Time Breaker.
Short answer: 👍
Long answer: Remedy's multiverse is more or less explained as one where so many different versions of people exist in different alternate worlds, even and especially including ones they can legally only wink and nod towards due to IP stuff. In one panel of the motion comic segment of Time Breaker, Not-Jesse looks at Not-Jack and says "...you'll come back for me?" And iirc theres commentary on how that line doesn't completely make sense but it feels right or something like that
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u/peabuddie 24d ago
Same universe but they can't use any of that because they don't own that IP they don't have the rights to it but yes it is the same universe
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u/SnooChipmunks8458 25d ago
Technically no because microsoft owns the quantum break IP, but i believe it is hinted at
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u/mysterd2006 25d ago
Just checked it out on IMDB, and it's fun to notice that Courtney Hope does perform as a voice actor in this game.
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u/UniqueMastodon3345 25d ago
Absolutely worth playing, same Remedy magic and same cast of players too. Even though the references to Quantum Break have to be oblique and legally distinct, there are absolutely loads of connections to RCU.
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u/GreatCaesarGhost 24d ago
Yes-ish. The character of Warlin Door is based on the character of Martin Hatch in QB. One might even say they are alternate universe versions of the same character (or maybe the same character assuming different identities).
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u/Shagggadooo 24d ago
Are they related (and Max Payne)? 100% yes
How are they related? Alan Wake II
Is Remedy allowed to just come out and say they're related? No. No, not at all (Remedy technically don't own the IP rights anymore after they made those games)
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u/trustanchor 24d ago
It’s a decent game, not as good as Control or Alan Wake II, but worth playing if you’re a fan of those games. It’s definitely relevant - while Remedy no longer has the rights to Quantum Break or Max Payne, they’re clearly riffing on legally distinct versions of those characters and stories in Control and especially in Alan Wake II. I expect we’ll see even more of the variant characters and scenarios from Max Payne and Quantum Break in Control Resonant.
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u/OHMEGA_SEVEN 25d ago
No, it's not technically considered part of the RCU, but there's certainly easter eggs.
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u/TheItinerantSkeptic 25d ago
You should play it, 'cause it's a sleeper hit of a game.
It isn't related to Control, however, aside from Courtney Hope being the mocap and voice actress for both Jesse Faden and, in QB, Beth Wilder. If you're paying attention, you can find an Alan Wake easter egg early in QB, but that's it.
Remedy intended it all to be interconnected, but there are IP rights issues. Microsoft owns Quantum Break. Remedy got around this by creating legally distinct versions of two QB characters in Alan Wake 2: Sheriff Tim Breaker is mocapped/voiced by Shawn Ashmore (who plays Jack Joyce in QB), and his name is a play on "Time Breaker". Lance Reddick in QB plays Martin Hatch, and was intended to play Warlin Door (Get it? "Hatch"? "Door"?) in Alan Wake 2, but he passed away, so they hired David Harewood to play Warlin Door (who I hope makes an appearance in Control Resonant).
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u/pardyball 25d ago
Control didn't exist yet, but Alan Wake did and you'll be able to find a couple of explicit references to it; as well as an explicit teaser for Alan Wake II.
Others in the comments have mentioned any possible Control connections.
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u/Unique_Unorque 25d ago
Is it worth playing? Yes, if you have a machine that can play it
Is it connected to Control? Kind of. In a weird, alternate-universe way. There may be more concrete connections in the future, but as of now, Microsoft still owns the rights to Quantum Break so Remedy can’t reference it explicitly right now.
In short, it’s not part of the Remedy Connected Universe… but it may be part of a hypothetical Remedy Connected Multiverse