FBC: Firebreak Breaks 1 Million Players And The Only Question Everyone Has is "How?"

Although the act of video game studios promoting player counts instead of units sold has in and of itself become frowned upon within the gaming community, the latest example has raised eyebrows for reasons different from those seen with DOOM: The Dark Ages and Assassin's Creed Shadows, with the milestone itself seeming improbable even when subscribtion services are factored in.

The example in question comes from Remedy, the developer behind Alan Wake and Control, which recently announced on Twitter that its new co-op shooter, FBC: Firebreak, has surpassed 1 million players, thanking fans for helping them achieve the milestone and teasing "a lot of exciting things" to come. While, as mentioned above, promoting "players reached" instead of "copies sold" is already viewed negatively by many, this time the controversy isn't just about that – it's about how the 1 million figure was even determined in the first place.

For starters, the game's performance on Steam – the only platform transparent enough to offer reliable data on the subject – has been nothing short of disastrous, with a peak of under 2,000 concurrent players at launch and now struggling to pass 200 users. According to PlayTracker – the most generous estimate I could find – the game has sold roughly 55,000 copies on Steam, which amounts to just 5.5% of the figure Remedy has boasted.

Assuming the game sold twice as much on PlayStation and matched Steam's numbers on Xbox – again, an incredibly generous estimate, especially since PSN Profiles only lists 5,172 players with at least one achievement (and you get an achievement just for completing your first mission) – we're looking at a maximum of 220,000 copies sold, or 22% of the claimed total. That would mean the remaining 780,000 players must have come from the PS Plus and Xbox Game Pass subscription services, both of which offer access to FBC: Firebreak.

However, given the game's clear struggle to gain traction, even that 780K figure has seemed suspicious to some, who speculated that Remedy may have counted installs and even refunded copies as "players" just to reach the coveted 1 million mark. Since these milestone announcements often double as marketing tools as much as points of pride and celebration, one can't help but wonder: at what point does being "technically correct" cross the line into false advertising?

So, what's your take on Firebreak's 1 million milestone? How do you think the game many haven't heard of until its launch got to that number? Let us know down in the comments!

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