Despite a tough launch, Remedy says it's "just the start" for its new co-op FPS

Four weeks on from the launch of FBC Firebreak, the stats don't look good, but developer Remedy Entertainment says this is "just the start" for the co-op FPS game based on Control. In a new blog, the Alan Wake and Max Payne studio talks about its plans for bigger updates, beginning with a major overhaul that's scheduled for September. With better onboarding, improved gunplay, and fundamental job changes, perhaps there's still time for FBC Firebreak to earn a grand redemption in the style of No Man's Sky.

In the last 24 hours, FBC Firebreak reached a player-count high of just 44 people on Steam. While it's also available through Game Pass, Nat speaks to its lengthy queues at peak times as emblematic of a game that's struggled to find an audience. The universe of Control is all about fixing problems, however, and Remedy refuses to abandon FBC Firebreak to the void. Instead, it's laying out a long list of changes as it prepares for "more radio silence" amid work towards transforming it into something worthy of our best FPS games list.

First off, Remedy is improving onboarding. It notes that "many players come into the game and leave within the first hour," citing frustrations as people are left feeling "ineffective and confused as to what to do." It's working on a better introduction to the world of Control for those who haven't played the original, alongside a fully fledged tutorial and better pop-up tips to give you relevant advice where needed.

New guns are coming; Remedy says it doesn't foresee FBC Firebreak becoming "a game with 100 guns," but says it's important to offer "meaningful variety," which it's working on with the initial inclusion of three extra heavy guns. It's also cutting out all of the 'generic' upgrades offered for guns and tools, instead choosing to "start players with a playable and powerful version of everything a Firebreak needs from the beginning." In place of these upgrades, Remedy is working on a mod system that "lets you tweak how you want your guns to work and the ways in which they become more powerful over time."

The ways that jobs are accessed, and what they actually entail, is also being reworked. "Letting you choose how and how long you want to play remains an important priority for us," Remedy explains, "but we want the game to show you the fun rather than ask you to hunt for it." As such, it wants to better capture the sense of being a Firebreak agent that is "reacting to dynamic, unpredictable dangers, not being asked to create danger for yourself."

This is being accomplished by replacing clearance and corruption levels with "pre-made, exciting (you'll have to take our word on 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." The least-fun tasks will be cut, and brand-new modes are set to take their place. Remedy is also "reevaluating our matchmaking flow" in an attempt to better segment player pools so that you can find matches quicker.

This comes built into a new feature called the 'Crisis Board,' and Remedy emphasizes that this is not a simple repackage of jobs, but a fundamental change to the way you approach things, "setting the game up for even more ways to play in the future." On top of this, while creating more jobs is certainly on the cards (and you can expect one newcomer in this initial September update), the team is also considering "what it's like to replay what is there."

Familiarity bred through repetition goes against the fantasy of being a crisis responder, so Remedy is contemplating the introduction of randomized objectives, item placement, and other ways to ensure that no two missions feel quite the same. While this first major update is currently planned to land in September, Remedy assures that there's more beyond that. The next will arrive in the winter, although the developer says it wants to watch the response from players before it decides what the focus will be there.

For now, you can take a look through our pick of the best co-op games for more excellent options to play with friends. We've also got a guide to the best graphics card in 2025, if you're considering an upgrade to your visual beef.

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