Following the underwhelming performance of Payday 3, developer Starbreeze’s Board of Directors has replaced CEO Tobias Sjögren. Board member Juergen Goeldner will act as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Sjögren is still available during the transition, though.
Regarding the change, Chairman Torgny Hellström said, “The company has a clear strategy centred around creating attractive games on our own and licensed IPs. The board’s consolidated assessment is that the execution of strategy needs a different leadership. Juergen Goeldner has been part of the board since 2023 and, with over 40 years of industry experience, is a strong interim solution.
“On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Tobias Sjögren for his achievements during the past three years. Tobias took over the helm of Starbreeze in a challenging phase of its journey, and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Goeldner, whose role as a board member and nomination to chairman is unaffected by this development, has been a part of the board since 2023. He previously served as CEO of Focus Home Interactive and has 40 years of experience in the industry.
As for the company’s plans, Goeldner responded, “Starbreeze has a strong history of developing and publishing games globally. After launching Payday 3, the company is well-positioned to leverage the strengths of the organization to monetize and develop the IP portfolio. I am looking forward to assuming an operative position and, together with the management, ensure the execution of this strategy.”
Though neither the board nor Goeldner mentioned Payday 3’s performance since launch, Starbreeze commented last month that it was performing at “significantly lower levels” than expected. The first-person co-op shooter had a troubled launch due to server issues, and fans quickly also took issue with its design, always-online nature, lack of quality-of-life features from Payday 2, and more.
Starbreeze has released the first paid DLC, Syntax Error, and several updates, the most recent being the first patch in Operation Medic Bag with 300 fixes and improvements. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.