It was clear to many from the start, and now Remedy has said it outright: FBC: Firebreak has underperformed. The creators of Control acknowledge that sales on PC have fallen short, but they remain optimistic about improving results in the months ahead.

You didn’t need to be an industry insider to notice that FBC: Firebreak had a rocky debut. Even the developers admitted that “not everything went smoothly” at launch, and at the time of writing, only 20 concurrent players were active (via SteamDB). Now, Remedy has addressed the game’s commercial results directly, confirming what was already suspected: sales have been below expectations.

In its latest financial report, Remedy dedicated an entire section to FBC: Firebreak’s performance. On one hand, the company celebrated that the multiplayer was “a technical success” and reached one million players in its first 10 days—thanks largely to its inclusion in PS Plus and Xbox/PC Game Pass. However, the game “performed less than expected” on Steam, which is a serious blow for the makers of Alan Wake, as Valve’s platform had been their main intended sales channel.

“The initial introductory experience and quest structure led to high early player attrition and a surge in negative reviews,” Remedy explained. “As players spent more time in the game and we rolled out updates, review sentiment became more positive.”

Still, the studio didn’t sugarcoat the reality: commercially, the game has been a failure. “Commercially, we are not satisfied with the sales of FBC: Firebreak during the launch phase. So far, its commercial performance has been driven primarily by deals with Xbox and PlayStation subscription services. A significant portion of the revenue from these agreements will continue to be recognized over the term of the contract.”

Remedy Isn’t Throwing in the Towel on FBC: Firebreak

Does this mean Remedy is abandoning FBC: Firebreak? Not at all. The studio behind Control remains committed to the multiplayer project and believes its commercial fortunes will improve in the coming months. “FBC: Firebreak was designed as a game that evolves. Despite the rough launch, we believe we have a solid foundation to build on. Players who have invested more than an hour in the game have left mostly positive reviews—showing us that the core gameplay experience is entertaining.” The team has already released several updates to enhance matches and plans to follow up with additional patches, including a major update scheduled for this September.

Beyond FBC: Firebreak’s results, Remedy also briefly addressed the state of its other projects. The studio is currently focusing on Control 2, with a primary emphasis on gameplay, environments, and missions. Work continues in full swing on the remakes of Max Payne 1 and 2, with “close and productive collaboration with Rockstar Games”. Sales-wise, Control has shipped 5 million units since launch, while Alan Wake 2 has shown steady commercial performance.

Source: 3djuegos