Mike Kayatta, game director for Remedy’s upcoming FBC: Firebreak, said, “We support the concept of creating games that respect players’ time and don’t overcharge them.
This suggestion is triggered by recent gusts of games that are being released at a lower price than we would expect. These include two of the most highly acclaimed titles of the year. Divided fiction and clear clear nabure: expedition 33To date, they have sold over 4 million copies each this year.
It’s a pattern from both Mafia: Old Countries – It was recently revealed that it will cost $50 when it was released on August 8th – and FBC: I hope the fire continues.
boot June 17, 2025, costs $39.99/£32.99 (both Game Pass and PS Plus), Firebreak aims for this newly emerging mid-tier space between highly budget AAA games and indie to find success. It is a concept that Kayatta explained to Passthecontroller.
“Kayatta has read that he has recently explained this in a very eloquent way, as game developers compete to build competing cathedrals to build these increasingly complex, beautiful and expensive things.
“And that’s where you have a lot of games that cost $5 billion. And of course, when you take part in marketing and promotion, I think the amounts I have involved are phenomenal.
Kayatta continued. “And on the other side there are all these incredible indie developers. From encryption to Stardew Valley to the Blue Prince, it feels like they’re coming out of nowhere and setting the world on fire. Kill Spire.
“If that’s the future, I’m not sure. I can’t say that in the sense that it means that all games are where they need them, but this idea of responsible team size, responsible budgets, responsible time to develop a game should just respect the player’s time, don’t try to recharge, don’t try to keep up with time.
Players’ respect for time and money is closely linked to Remedy’s all-in-one approach to firefighting. This is a game you pay once and get everything for that $40. The idea of a free-to-play model was never even enjoyed by the team.
“Most of that has to do with reducing the reduction in FOMO (the fear of missing out).
“And that’s not a blanket statement. I think a lot of games can be exciting with FOMO. So, especially in this game, I say it didn’t work for us, but it’s not just about monetization.
“And for that type of person, they’re really excited to see the depth and see the time I have all these other things. And for another type of person, they say, ‘I’ll never extract value from this game.’ And even those developers, this is no longer a comment on the path of exile. “Well, you don’t have to interact with those systems, but you still have fun,” but I love it. It may be true, but at the moment those systems exist, you are instantly put into that reference frame.
“So, for us, we wanted to make sure that from the way the game monetizes it, we don’t do daily check-in, timing battle pass, everything else that tells you your time. There’s that aspect.
“But on the other side, too, ahhh, you can’t do this unless you come back and do six more sessions and it feels like you’ll take the time to achieve something like progress is important. So we definitely wanted to play a strong metagame, but we definitely just wanted to play a strong metagame. In the moment, I’m having a full experience.”
Firebreak hopes to capture both fans of Remedy’s unique, weird work, and fans of Co-op Shooter when it launches on June 17th. Check out our hands-on preview.
Simon Cardy can find himself mostly indulging in open world games, indulging in Korean movies, or in despair at Tottenham Hotspur and the New York Jets. Follow him on Bluesky @cardy.bsky.social.
