Payday 3 Aims to Emulate the Feeling of a “Hollywood Heist,” Developer Says

Many games have tried their hand at the multiplayer heist shooter genre over recent years, and though some have enjoyed varying degrees of success, the Payday franchise has consistently been the one to beat for new competitors. With the upcoming Payday 3, developer Starbreeze Studios is looking to up the ante once again, and in a recent interview, its developers spoke about how, to that end, the game’s core goal is to make players feel like they’re actively participating in a “Hollywood heist”.

Speaking recently with The Loadout, Payday brand director Almir Listo said that the upcoming co-op shooter will attempt to emulate the feeling that you’d ordinarily associate with watching heist movies or TV shows.

“We have had a term that we’ve thrown about working on this game, and it is ‘Hollywood Heist,'” Listo said. “We want to emulate the feeling you get watching a heist movie or a TV show. Whether it’s Heat and the great battles on the Los Angeles streets or whether it’s Ocean’s 11 and going in and out, being unseen.”

“This time it is all about the idea of where do we go from here?” Listo added. “How are you a career criminal? How does that show itself in your world? You know, how does that make you behave? What do you do when you are that?”

Listo also went on to talk about some of the Hollywood flicks that have served as inspiration for Payday 3, including the likes of the aforementioned Heat, as well as the 2010 Ben Affleck-directed (and starring) crime thriller The Town.

“Heat is such a classic but also The Town,” Listo said. “Personally, I’m all about the classics and capturing that timeless spirit I think Heat really, truly conveys. I know there are a lot of new movies and what not that propel the heisting fantasy, but I think we have struck such a special chord with Payday 3 that has just been about evolving in the most beautiful way we possibly can.”

Payday 3 launches on September 21 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Head on over here to read up on why it’s skipping last-gen consoles.