Control March 2025 PC Update: New Ultra Ray Tracing Preset, HDR Feature, 4K+ Resolution Support, and NVIDIA DLSS 3.7 Upgrades

Control Update 1.30: Major Enhancements for PC Players

Today marks the launch of a significant update for Control on PC, elevating the gameplay experience with a range of thrilling features. Among these enhancements are a new ray tracing preset, improved HDR support, updates to NVIDIA DLSS, and various other technical improvements.

Expanded Content for All Players

The 1.30 update makes previously exclusive content accessible to everyone. Items such as the Astral Dive Suit, Tactical Response Gear, and Urban Response Gear, which were once pre-order bonuses, can now be enjoyed by all players. Additionally, the update includes the acclaimed Guided Imagery Experience by Dr. Yoshimi Tokui, featuring a voiceover by renowned game designer Hideo Kojima, originally only available to PS4 Digital Deluxe Edition pre-order customers.

Technical Upgrades that Enhance Gameplay

Beyond the democratization of exclusive content, the Control March 2025 update introduces cutting-edge technical enhancements. Players can now utilize an ultra ray tracing preset that provides more rays per pixel and enhanced temporal stability, ensuring a more immersive environment. The update also supports ultrawide resolutions with an impressive 48:9 aspect ratio and upgrades the standard dynamic range (SDR) to 10 bits, effectively minimizing visible color banding. Additionally, it accommodates resolutions exceeding 4K.

NVIDIA DLSS Enhancements

The update progresses NVIDIA DLSS to version 3.7, bringing with it improved temporal stability and support for DLAA (Deep Learning Anti-Aliasing) as well as arbitrary resolutions. These advancements aim to create a smoother and visually richer gameplay experience.

HDR Support and Community Solutions

An exciting addition to the update is the official HDR support for Control. However, as noted in several online reports, this feature currently appears to cap overall brightness without adding additional highlight detail. Fortunately, the community has developed a workaround that allows users to adjust settings in the renderer.ini file. By following the guidelines below, players can restore a more vibrant HDR experience:

"m_eHDRPreset": 0 – The new default HDR mode offers 10-20% brighter highlights than SDR but lacks dynamic range, averaging around 250 nits on a 1000 nit display.
"m_eHDRPreset": 1 – This setting provides the “Original Look”from the previous HDR mod.
"m_eHDRPreset": 2 – Resembles the proper HDR setting from the original mod, offering a significantly greater dynamic range and is highly recommended.

What Lies Ahead for Control

Control is available across multiple platforms, including PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Xbox One. Excitingly, a sequel is currently in development, alongside a multiplayer spin-off game titled FBC: Firebreak, expected to launch later this year. Stay tuned for more updates and content expansions as the franchise continues to grow.

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