One Of 2019's Biggest Hits May Be Coming To Xbox Game Pass
The Xbox Series X|S was released just last month, marking Microsoft's official entry into the next generation of console gaming. However, unlike competitors Sony and Nintendo, Microsoft's focus is only partially on its flagship console. Arguably just as important to the company's gaming strategy is Xbox Game Pass, its subscription service for both Xbox and PC. Now, with the proverbial ball in Microsoft's court following its console release, a Tweet posted by the Xbox Game Pass account teased an upcoming title slated to be added to subscribers' libraries. That game is likely to be last year's critically-acclaimed Control.
An image attached to said Tweet is meant to resemble an email from an Xbox Game Pass "Executive Senior VP Lieutenant" named "Melissa McGamepass." As pointed out by GameRant, those who have played Control will already recognize the mock-email format as, at least potentially, a reference to the game. As in many other lore-heavy AAA titles, Control's game world features a number of collectible documents, giving players the option to expand their understanding of its universe at their leisure should they choose to read them, rather than solely through mandatory cutscenes. Since Control's setting is an office building, many of these documents are copies of company emails.
The first smoking gun that the Game Pass Tweet is explicitly a Control reference, however, is a direct mention by Ms. McGamepass of the very game being teased, blocked-out by a bar reading "REDACTED." The building in which Control takes place is that of a fictional government agency, the Federal Bureau of Control. Given the clandestine nature of the work done by the FBC (they're dealing with parallel universes, after all), many in-game documents likewise feature redacted portions of text.
Furthermore, Game Pass's Executive Senior VP Lieutenant also mentions having sent the email's unnamed recipient a .gif of a "sinister red light." Control's villainous hivemind, The Hiss, oftentimes appears either in red or accompanied by a red light. Key marketing visuals for the game also prominently feature red in reference to the color's prominence within the game.
In December of 2019, Xbox head Phil Spencer claimed Control was on its way to Game Pass. Whether a deal was in the works but had yet to be finalized, or he spoke entirely in error, the official Control Twitter account ultimately had to issue a retraction of Spencer's statement. Presuming Control is added to Game Pass sooner rather than later, it will have been just about a full year between the erroneous announcement and Control's genuine addition to the service.