However, the studio intends to maintain the game’s playability ‘for years ahead.’
However, the studio intends to maintain the game’s playability ‘for years ahead.’
Remedy is concluding its team shooter FBC: Firebreak with a significant update being released today. Although the game will not receive any new updates going forward, the studio aims to keep it operational for the foreseeable future. This serves as another illustration of a live-service game facing challenges in a fluctuating market.
The latest update, titled “Open House,” features several new areas taken from Control (Firebreak is a spinoff set in the Control universe), along with what Remedy refers to as “gameplay enhancements and balance modifications aimed at making combat more understandable, fluid, and adaptable.” Visit Steam for the complete list of modifications.
However, unlike several recent shooters that have entirely shut down, Remedy intends to keep Firebreak active even with fewer players. “We have done engineering work to make sure we can maintain the relay servers when player counts are lower,” the developer states. The studio has also implemented adjustments to encourage player activity even without content updates. Anyone who possesses Firebreak can join their friends for free via a new feature named “Friend’s Pass,” and the price of the game has been lowered to $19.99. Remedy asserts that Firebreak “will remain operational and playable for years to come.”
Firebreak debuted last year as a significant shift for Remedy, a studio recognized for its single-player titles like Control and Alan Wake. It was also the studio’s inaugural self-published game, aimed at achieving greater autonomy. Yet despite efforts to improve the situation, the title never succeeded in bouncing back from a problematic launch, and ultimately Remedy’s CEO resigned due to the aftermath. (He was succeeded earlier this year.) “As Remedy’s first online multiplayer endeavor and our first self-published project, it has been quite a journey for the studio and a valuable learning opportunity for the teams involved,” the studio remarked in its announcement today.
Indeed, Firebreak is far from the sole casualty arising from the game’s industry’s excessive expansion into the live-service domain. This month alone witnessed the shutdown of Highguard and layoffs affecting developers working on EA’s Battlefield. Currently, live-service shooters must achieve immediate success, or they face a comparable demise.
Regarding Remedy, the studio is reverting to its roots with its impending release. A sequel to Control titled Resonant transforms the series into an action-RPG experience, and it is anticipated to launch sometime in 2026.
