FBC: Firebreak Launch Wasn’t What Studio Hoped For, But Remedy Isn’t Giving Up

Alan Wake and Control developer Remedy Entertainment launched its newest game, the co-op FPS FBC: Firebreak, in mid-June. The game didn’t exactly take the world by storm, with Steam concurrents topping out under 300 over the last week, and Remedy itself admitting it “had hoped for a better launch.” But Steam concurrent numbers do not tell the whole story, of course, and Remedy isn’t giving up on Firebreak. Far from it.

Speaking to GameSpot, Remedy communications director Thomas Puha responded to the game’s launch and outlined some of what’s to come as part of the game’s ongoing content roadmap. Puha said the team at Remedy is “super motivated” to build upon FBC and make changes based on player feedback. More than 1 million people have played the game so far, and players haven’t wasted time submitting feedback.

“One of the great things about an online game like FBC: Firebreak is that we receive a wealth of player data and community feedback to inform our decision-making. We read all of it, and we are there talking with the players online,” Puha explained.

We also asked Puha about the decision to bring Firebreak to Game Pass and PlayStation Plus at launch. He said Remedy is still crunching the numbers, but remarked that a “good number” of new players are joining FBC on console every day via the subscription services from Microsoft and Sony.

“We feel strongly that what we have in the pipeline is going to be exciting for players. There is some game-changing content in development.” — Remedy’s Thomas Puha

Some in the video game industry have questioned whether or not it makes good business sense to launch new games directly into a subscription service, including those who have done just that. Recently the developer of the day-one Game Pass release Revenge of the Savage Planet questioned whether it was indeed a good idea to launch the game into Game Pass, citing concerns about the “devaluation” of content. We don’t know about the financial specifics for any deals Remedy may have made for Firebreak, however. At the same time, others have argued that launching directly into a subscription service could be a recipe for success to help a game reach a wider audience out of the gate.

Beyond financial performance, Puha said it’s “pretty clear” that although people who may join Firebreak from Game Pass or PS Plus might not stick with the game for as long as someone who may have bought the game outright, “it’s also easier for them to return.”

Puha also reiterated that Firebreak was never designed to require people to play every day to unlock daily login rewards or anything that could make it feel like playing Firebreak was “your other job.” The game was purposefully designed to not take over your life, he said. “Instead, you play Firebreak for a while, take a break, and come back when we release new content in the form of major updates,” he said. “We feel strongly that what we have in the pipeline is going to be exciting for players. There is some game-changing content in development.”

While Puha said Remedy has already had to make key strategic decisions like prioritizing some areas and deprioritizing others due to the feedback at launch, he said fans can expect Remedy to stick with FBC. “Remedy is fully committed to FBC: Firebreak. We are all curious to see what it will be like later in the year,” he said.

You can read our full interview with Puha below.

Next up for Firebreak is the 1.3 patch, which is targeting release early this week. Remedy said the patch aims to “enhanced the overall game experience” with things like changes to the game’s perk economy. This follows on from a previous patch that responded to some initial frustrations with the game about the onboarding and progression, among other things.

GameSpot’s FBC: Firebreak review scored the game an 8/10. “FBC: Firebreak is an enjoyably chaotic power fantasy, and an interesting experiment for Remedy between its bigger, weirder projects,” reviewer Mark Delaney wrote.

Remedy’s ongoing support for Firebreak is just one of the development efforts that remains ongoing at the company. The Finnish studio is also working on Control 2 and remakes of Max Payne and May Payne 2.

Can you speak to the Steam numbers for FBC so far, and how do you view Steam in terms of importance relative to console in the overall mix?

Steam is a very important part of the business of FBC: Firebreak. The Steam CCU is a very easy statistic to dig up, but it isn’t everything.

We aren’t naïve; we had hoped for a better launch, but the team here is super-motivated to continue building the game and responding to player feedback. We already reacted during launch week with patch 1.2, making some big changes to the game. As Remedy does, we’ll do things with smaller teams in our way and try to solve challenges creatively.

What can Remedy say about launching FBC directly into Game Pass and PS Plus? Did this have the desired results for Remedy thus far?

Subscription services are an easy way for a large number of players to try the game, and it’s great for cross-platform matchmaking–you have more folks to play with.

Being on these services also makes it easy for players to return when we release new updates and exciting new content.

What trends has Remedy observed for the Game Pass/PS Plus audience relative to people who may have bought the game outright? Are you seeing people who have never played a Remedy game before try it out, thanks to the subscription offering?

It’s very early days, and we have a lot of data, which is very helpful for a game like this. We can see there is a significant number of FBC: Firebreak players who, for example, don’t own Control. The game’s a bit bewildering for them, to say the least, but we are going to improve on that significantly. Then, it’s pretty clear that players from subscription services tend to stick around for shorter periods than those who purchased the game, but it’s also easier for them to return. There is a good number of new players coming in every day on consoles.

What are some efforts you might take to help grow the FBC player base and retain the players you have already?

The simple answer is to develop and release great content to the game now that it’s live. Post-launch content, as we have always said, will be free. Listen to the player base to understand what they want; their opinion is what matters, while ensuring that Remedy’s creativity remains in the mix.

We never designed the game to be something that requires daily login for some random stuff, making the game your other job. Instead, you play Firebreak for a while, take a break, and come back when we release new content in the form of Major Updates.

We feel strongly that what we have in the pipeline is going to be exciting for players. There is some game-changing content in development.

One of the great things about an online game like FBC: Firebreak is that we receive a wealth of player data and community feedback to inform our decision-making. We read all of it, and we are there talking with the players online.

The drive within the Remedy development team is incredible to see, but of course, the content ultimately will decide what players think, not words.

It’s been interesting to examine the data and feedback, and see that players who spent many hours playing the experience rated the game significantly higher than those who ended it early. So we know we’ve got something great at the core of the game.

We didn’t do a great job at all with onboarding and what we call the “first hours” progression, so players’ frustration at the beginning of the game is understandable when there are a lot of systems thrown at you with little explanation, and the tier 1 weapons weren’t hitting that hard amongst other things.

What level of ongoing support can FBC players expect going forward as it relates to new content and updates?

Let’s keep in mind the game is barely a week and a half old. We have a lot to process.

We outlined our post-launch plans before releasing the game, so there are two new Jobs and features coming in 2025. That’s still the case.

Ultimately, we always knew that the launch of these types of games would have an impact on our post-launch roadmap. As it has proven to be, we’ve rearranged some of our development plans, prioritized certain features, and deprioritized others already during the week of the game being live. The game is live, players’ feedback comes in, things will change, that’s what we expected.

We relied more on building game systems that we can expand in the future, and we can do so, so much more. We are going to discuss what’s coming to the game in the near future. It takes time to review the feedback, assess what’s possible, and communicate it.

It’s exciting that the game starts evolving now that its live, Remedy is fully committed to FBC: Firebreak. We are all curious to see what it will be like later in the year.