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is an entertainment editor covering streaming, virtual worlds, and every single Pokémon video game. Andrew joined The Verge in 2012, writing over 4,000 stories.
Remedy is winding down its team shooter FBC: Firebreak with a big update that launches today. But while the game won’t be getting any new content going forward, the studio intends to keep it alive for the foreseeable future. It’s yet another example of a live-service game struggling amidst a volatile market.
The new update is called “Open House,” and it includes a handful of new areas pulled from Control (Firebreak is a spinoff that takes place in the Control universe), along with what Remedy describes as “gameplay improvements and balance changes aimed at making combat clearer, smoother, and more flexible.” You can check out Steam for the full list of changes.
However, unlike many recent shooters that have shut down entirely, Remedy plans to keep Firebreak running even with a smaller userbase. “We have done engineering work to ensure we can sustain the upkeep of the relay servers when the player volume is lower,” the developer says. The studio has also made some changes to try to keep the playerbase active even without content updates. Anyone who owns Firebreak can play with their friends for free through a new feature called “Friend’s Pass,” and the game’s price has been reduced to $19.99. Remedy says that Firebreak “will stay online and continue to be playable for years to come.”
Firebreak launched last year as a notable departure for Remedy, a studio known for single-player games like Control and Alan Wake. It was also the studio’s first self-published title, and part of a bigger goal of gaining greater independence. But despite attempts at turning things around, the game never managed to recover from a rocky launch, and eventually Remedy’s CEO stepped down as part of the fallout. (He was replaced earlier this year.) “As Remedy’s first online multiplayer game and our first self-published title, it has been quite the journey for the studio and a valuable learning experience for the teams involved,” the studio said in its announcement today.
Of course, Firebreak is far from the only casualty of the game industry’s over-expansion into the live-service space. This month alone saw Highguard shut down and layoffs hit the studios working on EA’s Battlefield. At this point, live-service shooters need to be a hit right away, or risk a similar fate.
As for Remedy, the studio is returning to what it’s known for with its next release. A Control sequel called Resonant shifts the franchise to an action-RPG experience, and is expected to launch some time in 2026.
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