FBC: Firebreak gets new “Breakpoint” update

Publisher 505 Games and developer Remedy Entertainment released a new “Breakpoint” update for FBC: Firebreak, their co-op spinoff game set in the Control universe.

Here’s a rundown on the update, plus a trailer:

This update, named Breakpoint, is packed with systemic overhauls, new content, and quality-of-life improvements – all aimed at making FBC: Firebreak more fun, varied, and rewarding to play.

We have taken a lot of feedback to heart. Over the summer, we have worked hard on releasing updates to the game. Still, Breakpoint is only the first major step, we know we need a few more, bringing significant improvements and new systems, as well as content, into the game, incorporating community feedback alongside our own ideas.

This is a lot of words thrown at you, but ultimately, we know, that the proof is in playing the game once the Major Update is released. However, here is everything that is new and changing.

Our Goals with the Major Update

With Breakpoint, we want to:

Improve everything about the FBC: Firebreak experience

Inject more variety into Jobs and reduce repetition

Deliver on the fantasy of being a first-responder facing unpredictable crises

Improve onboarding and make the game more welcoming for new players

Add more depth and build variety with guns, grenades, perks, and the new Gun Mod system

What’s New at a Glance

Crisis Board – Replacing the Job Board and presenting curated playable content, making the game feel more dynamic, less predictable, and closer to the first-responder fantasy at the heart of the game. We want the game to show you the fun rather than ask you to hunt for it.

”Orientation” – A new tutorial level accompanied by onboarding improvements across the game

Outbreak – A brand-new Crisis (formerly known as Jobs) bringing a new location, enemies, and gameplay

Gun Mods – Brand new gun customization system bringing modifiers that make guns more powerful or change their functionality.

New guns, grenades, cosmetics, and enemies

Systemic improvements to harmful conditions, objectives, devices, and more!

Economy & Progression Overhaul (covered in our previous blog post)

Crisis Board – A New Way to Play

Let’s revisit what we wrote back on July 18th when we laid out our plans for our first Major Update:

“Firebreak (initiative) was formed to manage an ongoing crisis, and as a first responder, you should be reacting to dynamic, unpredictable dangers, not being asked to create danger for yourself. “

To better serve this fantasy (which many of you did bring up) and give more variety to our players, we are introducing the Crisis Board, which replaces the current Job selection screen. It shows Crises that appear at different levels (what we formerly would call Jobs) around the Oldest House.

We want the game to show you the fun rather than ask you to hunt for it.

There are currently three types of crises:

Jobs (full runs)

Quick Jobs (1-2 Zones)

Corrupted Jobs (Jobs with Corrupted Items in them)

From the Crisis Board, you can quickly see the types of Crises available and their modifiers. You can get a detailed look at what the Crisis contains by clicking it.

Each Crisis is currently a curated version of one of the existing five (six with the update) Jobs with randomized rewards, objectives, and length.

The Crisis Board refreshes every 30 minutes, always giving you something new to play.

At any given time, 4–6 Crises are active. These are the same for every player globally.

Corruption and Clearance levels have been removed, but you still choose the Threat level (difficulty) you want.

You can choose a specific Crisis to play and start matchmaking for it.

There is also a Quick Reinforce option that will put you into the next active Crisis-in-progress to help a crew in need.

The Crises use the same objectives Jobs had, but Zones 1-2 have 25% fewer objective requirements than before. Meaning you are destroying fewer Sticky Notes and carrying fewer Leech Pearls to complete objectives than before.

On top of that, we want to make Crises more unpredictable, which is why each Crisis currently has two unique Alternative Objectives that can pop up randomly during Zones 1 and 2. These replace the primary objective of the Crisis, so whereas before the mission flow was always the same, there should be a bit more variety and surprise in how Crises progress. We are planning to add more Alternative Objectives to the game via future updates to add more unpredictability to the Crises.

Shower and Ammo station locations will be much more randomized than before, so you can’t rely on muscle memory in finding them when you enter familiar-looking territory. However, the nearest shower will always be marked on the HUD for you, so you don’t die looking for them.

The Crisis Board is a big change in how we present playable content in the game. It’s hopefully a meaningful step toward making Firebreak feel more dynamic, less predictable, and closer to the first-responder fantasy at the heart of the game.

We will closely monitor how the feature is received, listen to feedback, and make adjustments as needed.

Note: You can no longer manually pick a specific Job, Clearance, or Corruption level. We know some players liked that flexibility, and we’re exploring ways to bring back more customization in the future.

Outbreak – A Brand-New Crisis

Breakpoint brings with it a brand-new Job or, rather, Crisis, called Outbreak, which is set within the Research Sector of the Oldest House.

Outbreak

Following a series of devastating House shifts across the Research Sector, the Mold has begun to evolve and spread at a rapid rate, transforming Hiss and Firebreakers alike into dangerous new enemies. Your mission? Descend into what’s left of Research, analyze any spores you find, then brew a custom poison to eliminate all Mold from the area. Just remember: Do as you’re told… don’t eat the Mold!

Crisis Details:

A twisted brand-new environment broken into three distinct zones.

New objective gameplay of transporting fragile spores by hand or by train into research machinery.

Two new dynamic enemies.

Mold Walkers – bullet-resistant, slow-moving enemies that you’ll want to use your Tools to take down. And be careful! If normal enemies get too Moldy, they’ll change into Mold Walkers themselves, adding to the horde!

Mold Turrets – Stationary turrets that fire large projectiles that Firebreak will need to avoid. They can be stunned but not killed, so do your best to avoid making more of them. And speaking of that…

A new harmful condition, Moldy, which can turn you or your crewmates into a Mold Walker!