Live AMA
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Overview
This AMA took place on July 15th, 2025. Unlike the prior AMAs hosted on Reddit, this was hosted live on Twitch & YouTube. The participants were:
- Dusty - CX Lead
- Rob - Executive Producer
- Matt - Design Director
- Oscar - Community Lead
Game Questions
What is the last time this game made you cry?
Rob
I have cried many times. But uh- I think the worst time was a play-session down in uh- our gaming room this was just when we were going live with the Open Beta. And there's been a button in the UI that's been moving back and forth. It's like tilted literal tilted I got so sad because this game was going live in Open Beta and we were super nervous and then this button in the menu didn't work. I remember I completely broke down, sat on the floor, and I cried. I cried like a baby for five- six minutes because- it was a super silly little thing. It was gone- it was like you couldn't leave the lobby or something. Super silly thing but I was so stressed and nervous for going live and so I broke down and felt like every gamer would be so disappointed at how bad the game was.
Oscar
I don't know. I think working TwitchCon and then getting to the end of a long day. We had a really cool day and we had our event and met a lot of cool people. I think that was like happy tears is the closest I've had. No buttons.
Matt
I don't know that the game has ever made me cry. I'm trying to think about it now. I don't think so, but maybe I'm too much of a stoic brit. If anything I'm surprised when I moved to Sweden- that swedes have this reputation of being quite stoic and uh- everyone was crying.
When will we be able to emote in the lobby? Working on it. Rob
Good question! I actually asked Högström this today. He called me asked me about how my knee was. I said well not that good, I had a snowboard accident earlier this year, I said "So how's the vacation and when can we get the quick emote in the lobby?" He said "I'm on vacation." I guess he will fix it during his vacation? I believe. We are working on it, we'll try to get it in the game. It's a little bit tricky since there's a lot of characters in the lobby at the same time and if they all start emoting there'd be a lot of intersection. It will happen- I don't know when yet but it will.
When do we get cooler death totems? Rob
We are looking into doing- first of all doing like Medium & Heavy statues. After that we're looking into adding customization for them. We need to just figure out the design language.
Any updates on sword? Matt
We're looking at some tweaks for 7.6. In fact we're going to tweak a few melee weapons. We are doing some smaller balance changes to a bunch of melee weapons to try to improve reliability. Part of that is looking at some sword tweaks as well. Some of them are kind of controls for sword, and some of them are buffs to some of the base values.
Is there any chance for colored fire to be added to flamethrowers as a cosmetic tied to skins. Matt
I don't see why not. As long as it looks enough like a flamethrower so people know what's going on, that's the most important thing.
Will you add new Specializations? Matt
We definitely plan to, yes. The exact timing, and how many, and for who that's uh- that needs to be discussed I think but we're by no means done with Specializations.
Will we ever get a April Fools event? Rob
Why not? I mean I would love that as long as it doesn't ruin the experience of the gamers. I mean personally I'm into easter eggs and being able to trigger things. I always loved April Fools as a kid, and as a teenager, and as an adult. I'd love that as long as we don't ruin the game for people. The answer is yes, if Matt agrees.
What do you plan on doing with Medium's class identity now that Heavy and Light are support classes as well. Matt
It's kind of a difficult one. Support is a part of medium and it's always been part of medium, but I don't think we've ever saw that as the defining quality of medium. We've always wanted all of the body types to be able to flex a bit between different styles. I think the engagement ranges were maybe a little bit more what defined the playstyles- or combat styles. What I would say is we know medium needs more variety in what they can do right now. They're a little locked in what- or rather they don't have the range of utility of the other body types.
Keyboard and Mouse on console when? Matt
SoonTM. We don't know exactly how soon but we definitely want to do it. There's been a lot of questions about how we do it, and how we do it in a way that meets the requirements for the different console platforms. For anyone that doesn't know the different consoles have a lot of different rules for releasing on their platforms. You have to make sure the game satisfies those rules about maintaining the quality of the platforms. So we've had to do a little bit of talking to people and figuring out when we could and couldn't do it and what rulesets. We're hopeful that relatively soon we can have mouse and keyboard support on the consoles as well.
Any plans to add more unconventional weapons? Such as a sling or a blowgun? Don’t see why not. We already have bows and throwing knives. Matt
I don’t see why not. We already have throwing knives, we already have bows. I don't think there's any particular cap on what we'd like to do as long as we can make it viable, and easy to understand for players. Maybe not those specific examples, but yes we absolutely have ambitions to get more variety and asymmetry into the game over time.
What do you guys personally love about THE FINALS? What do you think needs some love? Rob
Oh this is a very emotional question. What do I love with THE FINALS? I always say THE FINALS is the last game I will do in my career, so it's the finale for me. I love the dev team. I love we took on something we didn't think we'd pull off. Building a game that's very dynamic and where anything can happen has been a dream for me since the 90s. I always dreamt about being able to play this kind of action in a multi-player game not only a single-player. All gamers play this on stream and having fun. I love the community I've been in so many communities and being this open and sitting here playing with you guys, chatting with you guys, is amazing and I love it.
Matt
Something I've been really keen on is just like, very systemic and deep games where there's a lot of variety with a lot of different things you can try and do different strategies and playstyles to learn. We really set out to do that with THE FINALS to have that be a part of the game. It's what I've always loved about games like DOTA that give you a lot of options. I'm into a lot of simulation games like Football Manager and those kind of things. It sounds like a weird comparison but you can experiment a lot and try out weird tactics and those kind of things. I'm just really proud we've made a shooter that offers that level of variety and offers it to the players as well. It's not that you're locked into one approach or another approach you've got the freedom to mix and match stuff. I'm super proud we've been able to do that. From a game design perspective as well it generally makes you life a lot harder. Every time we do a new gadget with some particular physics or some new kind of movement the potential for bugs or unexpected outcomes is way higher than if we were doing a game that's a bit more straight down the line. The upside you get from doing this type of game is a so much kind of fun opportunities to experiment and try new playstyles and stuff.
Oscar
I have the cop out answer, and the good answer. The cop out answer is obviously the team and the players. You need both to be great in a place like this. We have a really kind community and a very cool community and that means a lot. We also have a cool team of devs that really care about the community and the players. But if we talk actual in game stuff then it's very similar to what Matt said. I like the variety and options since I can play this with friends who aren't big on shooters and I can play with friends that are big on shooters. We've got something for everyone which is a big thing for me.
Matt
What I would love to improve is related to what I really love about the game. I should point out- I feel bad that the other two said the team and I didn't mention them but I'm sure the team knows they're awesome and wonderful and I shouldn't need to add that. They know. One of the challenges with making a game like this, with all the variety and the asymmetry and playstyles and stuff is it's hard for new players to learn. It always gets to me that we haven't made it easier for new players to get their heads around what the game is while still keeping the variety and complexity. I think we can do that and I'd love to see us do more- and we do have plans to do more to make it easier for new players to get into and see all the opportunities it offers without watering it down. We don't want to change what the game is but there are things we can do to make new players understand what makes THE FINALS special.
Rob
We're so early in the journey of THE FINALS. We started this game as a long, long, long term commitment to the players. And yes I tilt a lot when I play the game because I see so many things I want to do better. Everything from onboarding to silly things like weapons I miss from earlier games I built that I love, to new game modes, to maps, to new specializations. I mean so many things because when Gustav created this game and the franchise from the beginning. We want a IP that's elastic, that allows us to say yes more than it forces us to say no. I use that as a example to say there will be dragons in the game. There are still no dragons in the game, but of course there will be dragons in THE FINALS. We can do so much in this game and we have only scratched the surface. It's a very hard question to answer because we're like one- one and a half year in and I want to be in this game for another two decades that's my goal. So hard answer is so many things. If you look at the bug list, if you look at the Miro board where we're looking at things for season 12 and 16. There's so many things we're planning to do. That was the longest answer and I didn't answer anything. We're only scratching the surface. If you manage to sneak by the office and look through the window and you see a Miro board on the wall where Gustav is talking about season 18 or 16 you'll see what I'm talking about.
Oscar
I want more player options across the board. I want more wacky fun things. I really wanted us to do more wacky LTMs but we're doing a lot more wacky LTMs now so that's already- we're already doing that so it's very fun. Heavy Hitters was great, Blast Off is also very great but very different to Heavy Hitters. I want us to have so many wacky LTMs we can have wacky LTM tournaments.
Will we ever get multiple stickers for guns? Yes. Lot of work so no ETA. Rob
The answer is yes. The big question is when? We have a prototype. It's actually much harder than you might think because there's so many different weapons. They have logos, they have scopes, etc. It's really hard to make a system where it fits everything. We make a new skin for that weapon, or we make a cool legendary or mythic skin and we change the mesh, we can't stick it there anymore. We have a working prototype with three stickers on a weapon. We just need UI/UX and a lot of work to be able for the players to be able to move it around and choose what to put where. It's happening.
When will we be able to drink OSPUZE? Rob
Very soon! We are- we have a signed deal with a company. We are making OSPUZE- we've said it before. Janice knows all the details so I shouldn't spoil anything. But we don't know exactly when. It will be linked to an event in the game so prepare for another OSPUZE event in the future. It will be sold in stores in some countries and regions but it's very different laws and regulations when it comes to drinks and food in different countries so I cannot promise where it will be.
When will we get rematch, stay as a team, find new team, or request to join party? We should also be able to see party requests and invites in game. Rob
Stay as a team- I reviewed it. Matt approved the design. I approved the in-game version of it. It's in our dev builds so it should come soon.
How does it feel hosting your first huge esports event in Stockholm? Oscar
It's going to be fantastic. It's extremely exciting. We have some fantastic teams signing up to play, we have some extremely cool players who are currently practicing and getting ready. We're going to have a fantastic event with so many people from the community flying out to come visit the event and see everything live. It's going to be a 10/10 across the board I'm very excited. What the team has said, what Gustav has said is esports has always made sense for THE FINALS just a matter of when and now we're starting to feel like the time is right for some THE FINALS esports.
Rob
How many orgs do we have signed now, Oscar? Seven, Six?
Oscar
We have three announced, we have six signed, and a seventh on the way.
We have jump pads for fast traversal on all the other maps, but citadel has a cool line that could be used for something new. Like a speed buff when running across the rift? Any plans to add some other cool traversal gadgets that are native to the maps? Rob
ESCALATORS. There were escalators, back in the day.
Matt
Rob has been asking for them for about three years. There's something being experimented with for season nine at the minute as well. It's very experimental I don't know if it'll make it. We are still experimenting with stuff like that.
Will you guys update the motion blur in the game? It has some really weird artifacts around the gun model. Rob
That's a super hard question for guys like Matt, Oscar, and Me. What I would like us to do is Dusty, Janice, or Caroline send that to the rendering team. If we can the answer is yes.
Was there ever anything you wanted, or expected to be in the game, but never happened? Rob
Yes- if you look at the first- No but I still actually want um- we had something back in the day in the construction site on Monaco. I want that back in. Matt, put it back in. I won't say what it is but it was amazing. I can also say on Seoul, there's a platform. I wonder... at the hospital. Why is there a platform there?
How long did it take to make Season two? Matt
I guess- honestly Season two feels like a decade ago now at this point. Most seasons we are- it's hard to say exactly how long it takes because we sort of work on them for about three months, but some of the features take longer. The bot challenges that we have in the practice range at the start of season seven. The bots, something like that, to do it properly is a really big time investment so people could be working on them for nine to twelve months. Some of the maps take quite a bit longer, they're more like a five to six month variable. Something like new weapons we'd do within a three month period. Some stuff for the next season we'd start right as the previous season starts. That's maybe a more complex answer.
Flashy cosmetics is what brought me to the game, what's everyone’s favorite cosmetics? Oscar
That's an easy answer. I'm wearing it right now. For me it's the camera- the camera sniper. It's my favorite thing we've ever released.
Rob
I said this on some other stream yesterday. The ORF grenade is coming in a couple weeks. I love that so much. I just love it it's so cute. I just love it. I mean when you pull the string of the grenade it starts talking to you. It's so cute I just want to have it IRL. I want to give it to my sister's kid.
Matt
I don't know what mine would be. I really like Sheldon. Sheldon is my avatar on Reddit.
We know Scotty was a contestant at one point, but what class did he play as? Rob
We know, but I don't think that part of the lore is revealed yet. It's a much bigger- it's a big thing about Scotty & June in the upcoming seasons. I mean even I stop leaking every now and then.
Oscar
Speaking of. Matt, what's your favorite lore thing?
Rob
Oh the DISSUN lore thing, it's so good. It's insane it's so sick. You didn't ask me-
Matt
That's a good question. I just like HOLTOW. I was very brought into having my alien invasion insurance.
Rob
Oh Matt I haven't told you. There's a super sick LTM in Season 8 with HOLTOW. You'll so much love it.
What's everyone's favorite build to play as? Rob
That's easy. I play light it's my favorite build. I have around 700 hours as Light. No I main heavy. I was a huge Team Fortress fan and I loved the minigun guy just loved it. When we started working on THE FINALS Matt wanted everyone to be Medium and I said no, we need to have different body types. I'll play Heavy until the day I die.
Matt
I've been enjoying Heavy the most lately.
Dusty
Janice's favorite class is Heavy. My favorite class is Heavy.
Oscar
I like Light.
Will we ever get the old LTMs in customs? Oscar
I got a great explanation from some of our lovely devs because I asked them this question. Why don't we just have all the LTMs in at once? And I got an explanation about how the levels were set up. Up until recently the LTM maps were on the same sub-level in the game, so they couldn't both exist in live at once.
Matt
So that's true for some of the LTMs. I guess it depends on how far you go back. I guess how game devy and nerdy do you want us to be about this topic? There's a bunch of things we have to consider about LTMs. The more we have available in custom matches the more people are potentially playing in customs which might mean we're splitting the player base across too many modes. Which can be bad for matchmaking and quality of matchmaking. Also every single LTM we have in the game is something we need to regularly test to make sure it's not broken we've not changed something somewhere that breaks a old mode. If we add every single LTM we've ever done to custom matches the amount of extra testing work, bug fixing work, and developing work it would add could be considerable. What we try and do is have things rotate in and out because it makes it a lot easier to manage stuff. To some extent nothing is ever gone away for good, but it definitely helps us manage the game and reduce the amount of bugs we have to deal with.
Your current model adds gear and weapons every season. Long-term I could see this game getting bloated where there are too many options. Do you guys have plans to address this, possibly by retiring old weapons and equipment? Rob
We don't want to bloat the game, absolutely not. We have a plan for this and we're not going to add specializations and weapons every season because that would ruin the game in the long-run. So we have a plan for that. Do you want to say something about that Matt?
Matt
No. Well I don't want to go too deep into one thing or another thing right. I think the question is a good one and it's a problem we're very aware of. It's a definite problem that we're mindful of we don't want to get to this place where there's like- I don't think we'd get this far anyway- but if there's 300 items and nobody knows what's going on.
Is there a plan to add surprise gadget skins for diamond players just like ruby players? Rob
Oh we can do that. But the long-term goal is- and we've talked so much about this. Is that we want players to pick their skins. We've talked about this for a long time. Should you earn like a token and then you select your diamond/ruby rewards?
Matt
I think to some extent the amount of time people put into ranked to get their tiers each season we're not necessarily paying it off as well as we could right now. We've talked about how we can improve that going forward. Like Rob said one option is to give a token for your tier instead of a specific skin and you could choose which weapon skin you want for that tier. That's one option we've also talked about taking a look at the ranked badges right now because it's maybe a little hard to tell the difference between a WT badge and Ranked badge. Sometimes the amount of effort that goes into earning a ranked tier is pretty considerable so we'd like to maybe improve those a little bit if we can.
How does the team feel about fanart on this project? Rob
I love fanart! I go into Discord and I love it. There's so many times where- today already there was a riot shield. I'm not a fan of riot shield personally because I have a BIG problem taking them down. There was this amazing skin for the riot shield and we sent this all around the office like we need to have this. Everything you guys do we love as long as you do it for personal use.
Will we ever get a Viking themed season? Rob
Yeah- a full season? Maybe not. There are Vikings coming. Viking are coming sooner than you think and they're not from Norway, they're from Sweden.
Can we get a vote to concede system in World Tour so that we don't suffer a penalty if we all agree to leave? Matt
I would say a couple of things. A lot of the fun in the game comes from the match being full and not missing teams. It is possible to come back until pretty late in the game with how the pricing works on the cashboxes. To not have a way for teams to concede is to allow teams to not con themselves into giving up early when they still have a pretty good chance.
When will there be new achievements and badges for them? Rob
Good question! This is also a question I ask at least once a week. "Can we make new ones?" And then Matt replies "Well we need to look at first party because we're not allowed to add new achievements, etc., etc." Anyway we want to but there are rules for that. Anyway that's where we're at. Matt, what do you say?
Matt
Unfortunately there rules about that. It is one of those things were you can't just add them at any time, at least the platform achievements.
Will there be a THE FINALS stand at Dreamhack? Dusty
We'll have a stage you guys. We'll have a stage you can visit. There'll be places to mingle around and a chill out area.
Random/Personal Questions
Oscar, why aren't you wearing a OSPUZE shirt today?
Oscar
Well I felt like I needed to wear something a bit more neutral as a lot of fans aren't OSPUZE fans.
Dusty
I'm gonna tell them the real answer, that one needs a wash.