“FBC: Firebreak is a game about people trapped in an absurd world fighting for their lives. What we may interpret as ‘funny’ from our couch, like seeing a bunch of murderous sticky notes evolve consciousness after reproducing like bunnies, would actually be really frightening to the character living it,” replies Kayatta. “And that’s always been the magic of Control, that juxtaposition of unexpected weirdness and earnest stakes.
“So, I wouldn’t say that FBC: Firebreak is necessarily ‘lighter’; when looking for the tone, it was important to me that we found a way to keep those same, fundamental ingredients of ‘absurd’ and ‘serious’, but then play with the mix in a way that works for Firebreak—for the specific situation our characters find themselves in but also for the specific type of gameplay we’re building.”
The more I learn about Firebreak the more it feels as though this is less of an experiment than a natural next step. What could have been seen as a side-project is actually more of a way for Remedy to continue pushing boundaries – the studio has always prioritized stories, action, and unusual presentation. Firebreak might look different, but it stands as part of that same tradition.
I ask if this feels like a true evolution for the studio, a moment where the idea of what a Remedy game can be has expanded: “To be honest, not really. Or maybe we are too busy to realize that,” laughs Puha.
“Instead, what I would say is that an evolution has been felt in the last four years or so, ever since we began developing multiple games in parallel. Remedy has shipped a game or a port of one of our games every year since 2019, which I think is quite an incredible feat for a company of less than 400 people.
“The launch of FBC: Firebreak is going to be a big shift as it’s an online game, we’ll support it post-launch…”
And in the moment, he seemingly reconsiders.
“Maybe it is an evolution right now after all.”
FBC: Firebreak will arrive in 2025 for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC – and you can play it day one with Game Pass.
