- Studio Kerosin’s New Title Releases on October 28… First Episode Revealed First
- Fluorescent arcade action combining the speed of the FPS legend ‘Quake’ and the skating of ‘Rollerdrome’
“FIRESTARTERS,” an arcade FPS featuring an anime-style protagonist riding rocket skates through an arena to fight enemies, was released on Steam Early Access on October 28.
The developer, Studio Kerosene, has released the first of four episodes. The remaining episodes will be added sequentially through free updates during the Early Access period.
The Steam launch price for ‘Firestarters’ has been set at $9.99 (approximately £6.99 / €6.99). The developer stated that the final selling price will be gradually increased as new episodes are updated and added in the future.
The game’s most significant feature is that it combines the fast-paced arena combat style of ‘Quake,’ the quintessential hyper FPS, with the unique skating system of ‘Rollerdrome,’ which garnered attention as a skate action FPS. Players take on the role of an anime-style protagonist, traversing the arena on rocket skates to engage in stylish combat.
In addition, visual novel-style story cutscenes that convey the narrative in depth have been added, and the dazzling fluorescent animation direction and bloody hardcore combat spaces create a strange contrast, providing a unique visual pleasure.
In fact, the famous overseas PC game media outlet ‘Rock Paper Shotgun’ had already taken note of ‘Firestarters’ before its release, describing it as “a highly anticipated title that looks like a perfect blend of Quake and Rollerdrome.”
‘Steel’, a live deathmatch sports show run by the worst criminal organization
The player begins the game as the protagonist, Kera, a delinquent inmate from the back alleys of Okinawa. Kera is selected as a new fighter for “STEEL,” a live gladiatorial sport boasting the world’s highest viewership and notoriety, and steps into a brutal arena.
‘Steel’ is a brutal deathmatch sport owned and operated by Japan’s worst criminal organization, with a cruel premise that prioritizes the stimulating fun and enjoyment of the audience over the survival of the participants.
Kera wages a desperate struggle to atone for her sins and win true freedom alongside new comrades she meets in the arena. The name of this underdog team, composed of fellow prisoners, and the title of the game is ‘Firestarters’.
‘Attack is survival’ Arena without healing items… Defeat enemies to secure resources
The key to combat lies in the perfect coordination of ceaseless movement and shooting. The protagonist, Kera, wears a performance-enhanced ‘Steel Battlesuit’ and custom-made ‘Rocket Skates’, wielding a total of six diverse weapons. Players must clear out hordes of swarming androids by executing dynamic actions such as running and sliding at high speeds, as well as wall-climbing grinds and aerial dive strikes.
In particular, there are absolutely no separate recovery items inside the arena to replenish health, armor, or ammo. All resources necessary for survival can only be obtained from the wreckage of defeated androids. In other words, it features a grueling structure where you must constantly attack and eliminate enemies to survive.
Alex Harte, the lead developer overseeing the development, explained the intention behind the game, stating , “We wanted to create a thrilling sensation of directly injecting powerful adrenaline into the user’s system,” and added, “The unique high-speed movement system was also designed to induce players to instinctively engage in aggressive play without stopping for a single moment.”
Equipped with global leaderboard-linked arcade mode… ‘No AI, proprietary engine’
Episode 1, which was released this time, includes an intense introduction to the main story along with an ‘unlockable arcade mode’ that adds to the fun of replayability. Arcade mode opens when a user clears ‘Storm’ in Story Mode for the first time, where they can challenge themselves to break their own personal best record.
In particular, it supports the Steam Global Leaderboard system, allowing players to compete for scores against players worldwide. Befitting the setting of a broadcasted sport, the core objective is to aim for a high score by moving faster and more stylishly while captivating the audience.
The developer stated that this title was created purely from scratch using their own engine, without relying on any commercial tools. They highlighted the fact that this eliminated the burden of excessive storage capacity and ensured a smooth operating environment free from stuttering caused by AI upscaling technology or shader compilation as key strengths.
In addition, they emphasized the craftsmanship unique to indie games by adding that the graphics were 100% hand-drawn, without using any generative AI tools throughout the entire game development process.
Independent studio handling direct development and publishing… Up to 2 years until official 1.0 version
Studio Kerosin introduces itself on its Steam store page as a purely independent development team that funds itself without interference from external capital. Bypassing publishers, they directly handle the entire process, from game development to service publishing targeting global users.
The Steam Early Access period is expected to last for approximately 18 to 24 months (up to 2 years). The developers plan to release a total of four story episodes and have established a roadmap to transition to the official version 1.0 upon completion of the final episode update.
However, the total number of episodes is subject to change depending on the future development process and user feedback. Additionally, Early Access purchasers will receive all additional episodes and content updates free of charge until the official release.
Initial Steam reaction ‘very positive’… Lack of Korean language support and optimization for low-spec systems stand out
As of the time of writing, there are 27 Steam user reviews for ‘Firestarters’, with 92% of users giving positive reviews . Although it is still in the early stages of release with a small number of accumulated reviews, it appears to have succeeded in leaving a positive first impression among core users who have been waiting for hyper arcade action.
The game offers interfaces and subtitles in three officially supported languages: English, Japanese, and Russian, but does not officially support Korean. The minimum system requirements are set very low, based on the Windows 10 operating system, consisting of a 4-core CPU (Intel i3 or AMD Ryzen 3 equivalent), 2GB of RAM, and a graphics card with 2GB of VRAM supporting Vulkan 1.3, boasting excellent optimization.
Meanwhile, due to the nature of high-speed action sequences, intense flash and strobe effects are frequently included on screen, so a user warning regarding photosensitive seizures (epilepsy) is displayed. Additionally, in accordance with the Steam store page guidelines, it is disclosed that the game contains depictions of gore, strong violence, foul language, adult and sexually explicit themes, and smoking.
‘Firestarters’, which puts fast high-speed movement and attack-oriented hardcore combat at the forefront , unfolds the narrative through stylish anime-style cutscenes while stimulating the desire for challenge and replay through arcade mode .
With its unwavering commitment to a ‘no AI, proprietary engine’ and the addition of adrenaline-pumping high-speed action, attention is focused on whether ‘Firestarters’ can establish itself as a new playground for hyper FPS fans by achieving dense content expansion during its early access journey, which is expected to last about two years.
Information regarding ‘FIRESTARTERS’
| item | detail |
|---|---|
| Developer | Studio Kerosene |
| Publisher | Studio Kerosene |
| Genre | Arcade Movement FPS, Action |
| platform | PC (Steam) |
| Release date | October 28, 2026 Steam Early Access (Episode 1/4) |
| price | $9.99 / £6.99 / €6.99 (Price to increase with additional episodes) |
| language | English, Japanese, Russian (Korean not supported) |
| Reactions/Evaluations | 92% of 27 Steam user reviews are positive |
| Steam Page | Shortcut |
