MP1st talks to Remedy Entertainment about FBC: Firebreak and even Alan Wake about game budgets, live-service and more.
The latest game in BioWare’s fantasy role-playing series went through ten years of development turmoil
In early November, on the eve of the crucial holiday shopping season, staffers at the video-game studio BioWare were feeling optimistic. After an excruciating development cycle, they had finally released their latest game, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and the early reception was largely positive. The role-playing game was topping sales charts on Steam, and solid, if not spectacular, reviews were rolling in.
Its easy they called the die hard fans people in their nerd caves who will buy anything and then went woke to reach modern audiences....insulting the nerds in their caves along the way showing utter contempt for their fan base. very hapy it failed and any company who insults their fan base and treat their customers with contempt and insults, in future, i also hope fail.
It’s disappointing but not surprising to see what's happening with Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the broader situation at BioWare. The layoffs are tragic — no one wants to see talented developers lose their jobs. But when studios repeatedly create games that alienate their own fanbase, outcomes like this become unfortunately predictable.
There’s a pattern we’re seeing far too often: beloved franchises are revived, only to be reshaped into something almost unrecognizable. Changes are made that no one asked for, often at the expense of what originally made these games special. Then, when long-time fans express concern or lose interest, they’re told, “This game might not be for you.” But when those same fans heed that advice and don’t buy the game, suddenly they're labeled as toxic, sexist, bigoted, or worse.
Let’s be clear: the overwhelming majority of gamers have no issue with diversity, LGBTQ+ representation, or strong female leads. In fact, some of the most iconic characters in gaming — like Aloy, Ellie, or FemShep — are proof that inclusivity and excellent storytelling can and do go hand in hand. The issue arises when diversity feels performative, forced, or disconnected from the narrative — when characters or themes are inserted not to serve the story, but to satisfy a corporate DEI checklist. Audiences can tell the difference.
When studios chase approval from a vocal minority that often doesn’t even buy games — while simultaneously dismissing loyal fans who actually do — they risk not just the success of individual titles, but the health of their entire studio. Telling your core customers “don’t buy it if you don’t like it” is not a viable business strategy. Because guess what? Many of us won’t. And when the game fails commercially, blaming those very fans for not supporting it is both unfair and self-defeating.
Gamers aren’t asking for less diversity or less progress. We’re asking for better writing, thoughtful character development, and a respect for the franchises we’ve supported for decades. When you give people great games that speak to them — whether they’re old fans or new players — they will show up. But if you keep making games for people who don’t play them, don’t be surprised when those who do stop showing up
I thought the writing and character development were fine. Sometimes things just dont resonate with people.
Richard Bailey Jr. of The Koalition writes: Remedy Entertainment announced FBC: Firebreak back in the Summer of 2021. Described as a team-based player vs. environment first-person shooter, Firebreak is Remedy’s first multiplayer game set within the connected Control universe.
This month, join forces to tackle the paranormal crises of a mysterious federal agency under siege in the cooperative first-person shooter FBC: Firebreak, lead your team to victory in the iconic all-out warfare of Battlefield 2042, test your skills as a new Fazbear employee managing and maintaining the eerie pizzeria of Five Nights at Freddy’s: Help Wanted 2 or live for the thrill of the hunt in the realistic hunting open world theHunter: Call of the Wild. All of these titles and more are available in June’s PlayStation Plus Game Catalog lineup*.
theHunter Call of the Wild is the best hunting game ever made. I understand it may not be everyone's cup of tea, it can be really slow going. But the environments (they look phenomenal, especially for a 2017 game!), the satisfaction of finally landing a Gold or a Diamond keep you coming back for more. I have over 600 hours in it, my dad in his 70's has around 1,500 in it! The only game he plays, even bought a PS4 Pro for it back in 2019 lol We get on almost every week to catch up bc we live about 4,000 miles apart overseas. New Snowy Canadian map is coming out this next Tuesday. I highly recommend this one! 👍
**I'm really happy to see Eiyuden Chronicles on here. I was about to buy that one after replaying the Suikoden Remasters recently!
they've gotten better with some updates throughout the years, but I wouldn't say they are perfect. But they're good enough that it's still a lot of fun. If you hang around their discord a while, you'll see quite a number of avid real life hunters who are pleased enough.
They should combine the premium and extra subscriptions and use the extra pricing for it.
Yea, that was my biggest complaint. If it weren't for my Portal, I would have cancelled my Premium. But it looks like they've leaned in on the streaming aspect as a selling point of Premium now, instead of the Classics. :\ I do like the streaming on Portal!
Firebreak has been surprisingly fun. Can't wait for the full game. And Deus Ex!
