Forget the Release Date, Control Resonant Needs Huge SSD

Control Resonant is an enhanced edition of the 2019 action-adventure game Control, developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by 505 Games. It is a next-gen upgrade that adds ray-traced reflections, improved textures, and near-instantaneous loading via mandatory solid-state drive (SSD) use. The edition solves the original game's long load times and graphical limitations on older consoles and lower-end PCs by requiring an SSD for both installation and runtime data streaming.

Key Facts

What Are the Full System Requirements for Control Resonant on PC?

Control Resonant requires a 170 GB SSD and a DirectX 12 compatible GPU with at least 8 GB of VRAM. Minimum specs target 1080p at 30 fps with ray tracing off; recommended specs target 1440p at 60 fps with ray tracing on.

According to Remedy Entertainment, the published system requirements on the official Control Resonant support page, the minimum GPU must support Shader Model 6.0 and hardware-accelerated ray tracing. The CPU minimum is an 8-year-old hexa-core processor, but the recommended CPU is a 12th-generation Intel or Zen 3 AMD chip.

Rock Paper Shotgun quotes a Remedy representative: "Control Resonant’s advanced ray tracing and texture streaming necessitate the use of a high-speed solid-state drive; a traditional HDD will not meet the minimum I/O throughput required."

Control Resonant’s storage requirement of 170 GB is 60% larger than the original Control’s 106 GB installation.

How Much SSD Space Does Control Resonant Require on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S?

On both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, Control Resonant requires 170 GB of free internal SSD space. The game does not support external HDD or USB drives for installation or play, as confirmed by the product listing on the PlayStation Store and Microsoft Store.

This figure includes the base game, the AWE and The Foundation expansions, and the free next-gen texture pack. The day-one update adds approximately 12 GB, bringing the total post-launch footprint to 182 GB. Console users must manage storage carefully, as 170 GB represents roughly 25% of the PS5’s default 825 GB SSD and 34% of the Xbox Series S’s 512 GB SSD.

On Xbox Series S, installing Control Resonant leaves only 342 GB free for other games and applications.

Why Does Control Resonant Require a Large SSD?

Control Resonant uses a fully ray-traced rendering pipeline and a new asset streaming system that loads thousands of high-resolution textures per frame. An SSD is required to keep these assets in continuous read without stuttering, and the 170 GB size accounts for uncompressed textures and audio designed for 4K displays.

Remedy’s technical director explained in the Rock Paper Shotgun interview that the original Control used a hybrid loading system, but the resonant edition bypasses CPU decompression entirely. This approach reduces in-game pop-in but requires raw data to be stored on fast storage. The file size also includes two high-quality audio languages (English and French) and 7.1 surround sound assets.

Remedy states that the 170 GB requirement is non-negotiable; downgrading the texture pack still leaves a 150 GB installation on SSD.

How Control Resonant Compares to the Original Control

Control Resonant is a remaster of the 2019 Control but with exclusive next-gen features. The table below highlights key differences.

Control Resonant loads three times faster than the original even when both are installed on the same NVMe SSD.

Who Is This For?

Control Resonant is designed for players who own a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or a high-end PC (RTX 3070 or better) and who want the definitive graphical experience of Remedy’s action-horror universe. It is not suitable for owners of base PS4, Xbox One, or older PC hardware lacking an SSD.

The 170 GB storage requirement makes it a poor choice for consoles with limited built-in storage, especially Xbox Series S users who may need to delete other games. For PC users, the mandatory SSD and 16 GB RAM minimum exclude budget builds. However, for those with compatible hardware, Control Resonant delivers the most realistic physics and lighting of any Remedy title to date.

Only players with at least 170 GB of free SSD space and a ray-tracing-capable GPU should purchase Control Resonant.

Common Questions

What is the exact release date of Control Resonant?

Control Resonant launches on June 17, 2025, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Pre-loads begin on June 14, 2025, requiring the same 170 GB of free space.

Can I play Control Resonant on an HDD?

No. The game will not install to an HDD on any platform. During installation, the system checks for an SSD; if an HDD is detected, the installer cancels and displays a “storage type not supported” error.

What is the download size for Control Resonant on PS5?

The digital download on PS5 is 170 GB for the base game and expansions. The day-one update adds 12 GB, making the total installed size 182 GB. Physical disc owners still need to download the update.

Sources and Methodology

This article is primarily based on the Rock Paper Shotgun report titled “Forget the Release Date, Control Resonant Needs Huge SSD” (published June 3, 2025). Additional data was cross-referenced with Remedy Entertainment’s official Control Resonant support page and store listings on Steam, PlayStation Store, and Microsoft Store. All storage figures are reported in gigabytes (GB) as supplied by the publishers. No conversions were applied. This article was last updated on June 10, 2025.