June 17th is the release date for FBC: Firebreak, Remedy’s triple mate co-op shooter set in the Control universe, which is also the Alan Wake universe, which also might be the Max Payne universe if you blur your eyes and plug your ears and shout “Alex Casey” a lot when Rockstar’s lawyers come knocking. It’ll be available on Steam and Epic for $39.99 / €39.99 / £32.99 (or more for a bunch of extra cosmetics), and also day one on that game subscription service by the company that you might not want to support for various reasons right now.
Watch on YouTube
Remedy revealed the news in a livestream this evening, although due to the time altering world event known as embargoed press releases, I’m writing this before the stream goes live on Remedy’s YouTube and Twitch channels. Thus, I can only guess what the reveal looked like for the new job, Hot Fix. ‘Jobs’ are what they’re calling the repeatable missions you’ll play through in the titular Federal Bureau Of Control, one of gaming’s finest mind-melting bureaucratic horror institutions. A Housing Benefit Form Desk Of Leaves, if you will.
Firebreak is Remedy’s first foray into the Getting That Potentially Infinite Bag world of live service, which, inevitably, means cosmetics. There are two types, the first being ‘Requisitions’ (“weapons, equipment, armor, sprays, and more”) that’ll be sold for an in-game currency you’ll earn by playing. No timers or rotating stores for these, either. The second, ‘Classified requisitions’ (“armor sets, custom voice packs, sprays, and weapon skins”), will cost you. “The items are purely cosmetic, have no gameplay impact, and will remain available permanently,” Remedy say. This all sounds like it’ll be funding post-launch support, with new jobs planned as early as this year.
Edwin had a chat with Remedy about their approach to live service recently, in which they basically say that their ‘We did not make Firebreak just to get that potentially infinite bag’ t-shirts are raising a lot of questions already answered by the shirts. Personally, I’m torn between being reflexively iffy about this stuff on principle while also believing Remedy deserve a fat payday, every day, and rubbing my hands together in glee over what sort of stupidly self-indulgent, brilliant art they can make with the funds. Oh! Oh! I’m coining ‘Deep Bloc Galactic’. Because of brutalism, right? Little gift there for you. Nice little Thursday treat.
