FBC: Firebreak is the first stab at making a multiplayer game that Remedy Entertainment has taken, so it's not the biggest surprise that things haven't been smooth sailing from the jump. In its latest blog post on the game's Steam page, Remedy acknowledged the issues players are having with the game, including the fact that its opening hours can be fairly frustrating.
Remedy also confirmed that its first major update, which it had previously set to arrive sometime in Fall 2025, will launch this coming September, though it didn't provide a specific date.
"The weeks since launch have given us a huge amount of feedback, from you, the community, as well as reviews, and the data we are looking at," the post reads. "We've seen many players come into the game and leave within the first hour. And that's because our first hour can be frustrating; you feel ineffective and confused as to what to do. This needs to be improved."
"For many of you already playing FBC: Firebreak, us focusing on the opening experience may seem less exciting, but to keep the game healthy (and your matchmaking fast), we need to bring in more people with a better first-time experience than before."
Remedy goes on to say that it will introduce more narrative onboarding for players who are hungry for more information about the world in which FBC: Firebreak exists, the same world as Control and Control 2, the latter of which is arguably the game that players are most excited to see from Remedy. It also says that it intends to improve the "pop-up tips you receive while playing by offering important information at relevant times."
The studio also confirms that it will be adding three new heavy guns to the game as part of its efforts to change how weak the gunplay can feel off the top. It also plans "to drop all 'generic' upgrades from equipment (guns and tools) and start players with a playable and powerful version of everything a Firebreak needs from the beginning."
Remedy is working on a Mod system to replace those more "generic" upgrades which the studio says will let you tweak weapons and how they become more powerful over time based on how you want to play. More about this new system will be revealed with the update in September.
Remedy will also be making "big changes" to Jobs and their content, starting with the Clearance and the Corruption levels being replaced by "pre-made, exciting (you'll have to take our word for that for now) variations of Job experiences that can still be short or long or filled with Corrupted items, but also a whole lot more."
It will also introduce a new Job with the September update, and the team is also currently looking at ways in which it can create more variety in the things to do in FBC: Firebreak, and to add more to the game.
"We are pushing a lot of improvements and changes into the game for our first major update. Some of these ideas were improvements we weren't able to add before launch, but all were decided on and developed based on what we heard from you (listening to feedback) and seen from you (looking at data). We are extremely excited about these changes and about delivering even more than we'd originally been planning, but changes now also mean changes later. We need to see what's working for you and to hear from you again before we can be certain that we're prioritizing the right things."
Last month, The Game Business reported that Ampere Analysis claimed Firebreak had only managed 1.3 million players in its opening week, and while that's not exactly anything to scoff at, it's below what a modern multiplayer game needs to survive. There's also the fact that, because Firebreak is available on Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra, the player count absolutely does not equal copies sold.
FBC: Firebreak might not be going as well as Remedy would have hoped in its opening month, but it's clear that the studio is trying to be transparent with its community and fix elements of the game that it and its community have identified as weak. If it can successfully listen to its community, then Remedy has more than a good shot at making FBC: Firebreak a very successful multiplayer game.
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