FBC Firebreak was a commercial disappointment, earns primarily via PS Plus, Game Pass deals

FBC Firebreak, the new multiplayer shooter from Max Payne and Alan Wake studio Remedy, has fallen flat for the Finnish developer.

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Remedy's first self-published game hasn't found success, at least at launch. The company today acknowledged the commercial disappointment of FBC Firebreak's launch, especially on Steam, where the game "underperformed."

Interestingly enough, FBC Firebreak helped boost year-over-year sales. Remedy also saw an uplift from Firebreak's launch via direct game sales and earnings from subscription deals made with PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass.

Remedy explains the Firebreak situation in its recent earnings report:

"Game sales increase was driven by the sales of FBC: Firebreak, including an initial accrual from subscription service agreements with Sony and Microsoft

"On Steam, which was planned as the primary consumer sales channel on PC, the launch underperformed.

"The game's initial onboarding experience and mission structure resulted in high early player drop-offs and an influx of negative reviews. As players spent more time in the game and we released updates improving the game, sentiment in reviews turned more positive.

"Commercially, we were unsatisfied with the launch-phase consumer sales of FBC: Firebreak.

"Thus far, FBC: Firebreak's commercial performance has largely been driven by the Xbox and PlayStation subscription service agreements. A considerable portion of the revenues from these agreements will still be recognized throughout the contract period."

The studio plans to continually update FBC Firebreak over the coming months, but it remains unclear how long the game will be supported across all platforms given the current performance. Remedy is meanwhile working on a number of other projects, including a fully-fledged sequel to the 2019 supernatural hit Control.