Firebreak Should Be The Straw That Breaks The Camel’s Back Regarding One Online Feature

Online multiplayer has come a long way since its infancy in the early 1990s. The medium has grown from arena shooters like Quake and Halo, to MMOs like World of Warcraft, to battle royales and hero shooters like Fortnite and Overwatch. Along the way, online multiplayer has birthed a new approach to delivering content known as the live-service model. And while FBC: Firebreak technically isn’t a live-service game, it borrows a few key elements of the genre.

FBC: Firebreak contains a battle pass-like system that players use to obtain cosmetics and gear upgrades, and it’s already set to receive major updates in the Fall and Winter that will bring new content to the game for free. Though its matchmaking has been patchy during launch week, FBC: Firebreak does at least have crossplay between different platforms, another live-service staple. But Firebreak is also the latest in a long line of recent multiplayer games that’s missing one highly-requested online feature, and the buck should stop here.

How FBC: Firebreak’s Review Scores Compare to Control, Alan Wake’s

FBC: Firebreak hasn’t had the strongest reception during its launch week, and its review scores mark quite the departure for Remedy Entertainment.

FBC: Firebreak Should Be The Last in a Long Line of Games Without Cross-Progression

Some Big Recent Multiplayer Games Are Still Missing Cross-Progression

It’s been a busy few months for multiplayer games. Elden Ring‘s co-op roguelike spinoff Nightreign released at the end of last month, Sloclap’s third-person soccer game Rematch released last week, and FBC: Firebreak came out just a few days before it. All three multiplayer-focused titles have had quite different critical and audience receptions, but all three have shared one common complaint.

FBC: Firebreak, Elden Ring Nightreign, and Rematch are all missing cross-progression. This means that players can’t start an account on one platform and carry their save data and progress to another. Unfortunately, this issue doesn’t just concern these three recent titles. Even Marvel Rivals – a live-service game that’s remained incredibly popular since its launch last December – doesn’t have cross-progression, despite countless updates and patches.

Elden Ring Nightreign and Rematch don’t even have crossplay. This means that friends on different platforms can’t join one another, which is arguably a much more pressing issue.

Why Cross-Progression Is Becoming A Bigger Deal

Cross-progression isn’t a necessary feature for a contemporary multiplayer game, but it is becoming more popular by the day. In the modern gaming world, many avid players own at least two platforms, one of which is usually a handheld like a Nintendo Switch or Steam Deck that they can take with them on the go. Games that have cross-progression on day-one are probably more likely to keep players invested as they’re able to play it on a range of devices, thus giving them even more freedom in how they choose to engage with the product.

Cross-progression is particularly useful for games like FBC: Firebreak and Rematch, which are both on Xbox Game Pass. One of the biggest perks of Xbox Game Pass’ Ultimate tier is that players can access their Game Pass libraries on both Xbox consoles and PC.

But without cross-progression, players are essentially forced to choose one platform regardless, as their save data and levels aren’t carried between Xbox and PC. Thankfully, Xbox’s Cloud streaming service would technically carry save data across platforms, but it’s far from ideal, especially for those with spotty internet connections.