In June, FBC: Firebreak became Remedy’s first self-published game as the company attempted to expand its shared universe that includes Control and Alan Wake. Remedy has previously disclosed that Firebreak’s sales came in below expectations, but the latest report indicates that the game will cost the company a very significant write down.
Ahead of Remedy’s quarterly financial report on October 29, the company shared an update that it is on the hook for a €14.9 million loss or approximately $17,234,085. Remedy notes that this amounts to “a majority of the game’s capitalized development costs,” before adding that the company’s cash position hasn’t been changed by this setback.
Firebreak ran into trouble out of the gate with 1,992 players on launch day, which turned out to be its peak. Those numbers have since drastically fallen to less than 100 concurrent players per day. Remedy subsequently acknowledged that players were particularly unhappy with the first hour of the game and promised to rectify its shortcomings with a future update.
Remedy rolled out the Breakpoint update at the end of September, which included a playable tutorial for new players that walks them through the basics, while adding context for the game’s world, including The Oldest House from Control. The update also made significant changes to how players pick their missions. However, Remedy noted in its report that the update has not met its’ “internal targets” despite earning “improved player and sales metrics.”
The company is currently working on Control 2, in addition to the Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake project alongside Rockstar Games. Remedy’s October 29 report may include more details about those games.
