While admitting that FBC: Firebreak’s launch on Steam “underperformed”, developers Remedy have re-iterated their commitment to the co-op shooter in their latest financial report, saying that it remains “a solid game to build on” and confirming that a previously announced major update will arrive in late September.
The report also gives quick mini-updates on the development of Control 2 and the combined Max Payne 1 & 2 remake, both of which remain on course.
According to Remedy CEO Tero Virtala, Control spinoff Firebreak enjoyed a launch that “succeeded technically” and attracted plenty of players on console. However, it “underperformed” on Steam, which had been pegged as the storefront through which it would attract most of its PC players. The overall result was launch sales that left the studio “unsatisfied”, and have seen the game rely on Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus to prop it up out of the gate.
However, Remedy’s commitment to updating and and improving Firebreak isn’t faltering, and the studio are reportedly pleased with feedback to the changes they’ve already made, citing a turnaround in review sentiment as updates have arrived. “FBC: Firebreak was designed as a game that evolves over time,” Virtala said, “Despite the rocky launch, we believe we have a solid game to build on.” Firebreak’s first major update, which Remedy first teased last month, is set to arrive in late September and bring a new job (aka mission) with it.
Remedy have consistently maintained their public-facing support for the shooter, and it’s encouraging to see that hasn’t changed now that they’ve had to explain its rough launch to the money types. After all, the need to make spreadsheets look and presentations sound as dollar-sign-heavy as possible is leaving an awful lot of games that won’t provide immediate runaway successes (or need a long-term push to get them where they want to be) facing the chopping block. That’s been doubly true for multiplayer games which suffer difficult releases.
As for Control 2 and the Max Payne 1 and 2 remake, the former is “on track towards meeting its next milestones”, with “the gameplay, environments, and missions” being the big focus of its development right now. Meanwhile, the Payne remake is still in the full production phase, with Remedy making sure they keep working closely with collaborators Rockstar as the game approaches a “next major phase”. Sales-wise, the studio say both Control and Alan Wake 2 are still ticking away nicely, with the rights to the former having now transferred fully into Remedy’s hands.
So, all eyes towards that big September update for Firebreak, and the job Remedy do in continuing to revamp their game that’s designed not to be a second job, despite containing jobs.
