BigFire Games studio has revealed new details about its MMO shooter Cinder City. In an interview WCCFTech NC America’s director of operations, Daniel Lafuente, confirmed that the game will not be free-to-play.
Instead of free-to-play, the buy-to-play model was chosen, that is, a one-time purchase. Additional income will be provided by an in-game store with cosmetic items, as well as battle passes.
Separately, Lafuente was asked about plans for major additions after release. A representative of the publisher noted that there will be many content updates, since BigFire Games initially focuses on the game-service model. There is no talk of full-fledged expansions yet, as the studio is focused on the launch itself.
This will be a service game, so there will be updates with new storylines, new missions that come with them, and new co-op dungeons. Typical expectations for a service game to add content over time. That is why we will also have battle passes. We haven’t talked about additions just yet. We’re focused on launch first.
The situation with console versions is also unclear. At the start Cinder City It will only be released on PC, with console ports coming later.
This has not yet been decided. When we release the game, it will be PC only initially, with consoles coming later, so we’re still waiting to make that decision as we progress.
Pre-alpha testing ended last month, after which Lafuente says the developers received a lot of positive feedback. BigFire Games plans to conduct additional tests in Europe, Latin America and Asia.
The next major alpha test is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026, with the studio promising to reveal more details by then. The game is being developed on Unreal Engine 5 and should be released in the second half of 2026, but there is still no exact release date.
The shooter was initially developed under the working title Project LLL, and the official announcement took place in August 2025. The authors describe it as an MMO tactical shooter set in a dystopian version of Seoul.
Some of the locations are based on real areas of the South Korean capital, including Noyeong-dong and Samseong-dong. BigFire Games head and development lead Bae Jae-hyun previously said that the title of the game should convey “the meaning of humanity in the future” which is “facing a serious crisis.”
Among the key sources of inspiration, the developers name the classics of science fiction and cyberpunk: the films “Blade Runner” and “Total Recall”, the TV series “Foundation” and “The Man in the High Castle”, “Dune”, as well as the works of Philip K. Dick.
The game already has Steam pagebut no release date yet.
