It’s been a while since I posted something a bit more personal here, so I thought this would be a good moment to share what we’ve been working on lately.

For the past 6+ months, we’ve been developing FireGrid – a small project that originally started during a game jam and we liked it so much that it grew into something much bigger.

FireGrid is a fast-paced tactical firefighting game about controlling spreading fires before everything gets out of hand.

The whole game takes place on a tile-based grid, where fire spreads dynamically and every few seconds can completely change the situation.

You extinguish fires, soak areas to stop them from igniting, deploy firefighters and sprinklers, use different tools, and generally try to keep the growing chaos under control.

FireGrid also has a roguelite progression loop. Between emergencies, you can improve your current run, unlock longer-term upgrades, and pick bonuses that help shape how you play. As you move through different biomes, new hazards and mechanics are introduced, making each part of the game progressively more demanding.

We wanted FireGrid to feel fast, tense and a little chaotic – „more arcade than simulation”. Your decisions and positioning matter, because a small fire can quickly turn into a much bigger problem if you ignore it for too long.

FireGrid is built in Unreal Engine 5, with a big part of the project running on Blueprints. Visually, we’re leaning heavily on stylized shaders and procedural effects, including the fire itself, to give the game a distinctive look without making it overly realistic.

The art direction takes some inspiration from older games like The Sims, especially in the simple, readable environments and slightly playful presentation.

We also decided to avoid generative AI workflow. Maybe we’re „oldskool”, but that gives us much more control over the final look and helps keep the art direction consistent.

We’re currently working toward a playable demo, which should be available soon. There’s still plenty to finish and polish, but the game is finally at a point where we’re happy to start showing more of it.

If FireGrid looks like something you might enjoy, you can check out the Steam page here: Steam

And if you feel like adding it to your wishlist, it definitely helps us 🙏

Thanks,
Unreal Bucket team