A Jesse-or-Dylan choice in Control was cut over budget

Mikael Kasurinen, game director of Control Resonant and creative director at Remedy, told the Dropped Frames podcast that a choice of lead was part of the plan for the first Control. The pair of linked protagonists took shape in 2015–2016, while the studio was finishing Quantum Break and sketching an early Alan Wake 2 split across two characters.

When the writer’s sequel was paused, those ideas moved into the Control prototype: a brother and sister, and a choice before the campaign of who would walk the Oldest House, Jesse or Dylan. Kasurinen says the choice was real at the start, but two full campaigns, each with its own animation and dialogue, were too expensive for an independent studio.

Jesse shipped as the lead, and Dylan’s thread was pushed back. It took about seven years to return to him. In Control Resonant he is the main character, with the shapeshifting Aberrant weapon and a close-range style, not a copy of the first game. Kasurinen’s interview