Starbreeze Studios announced Payday 3 in 2016 and has yet to confirm a proper release date (though production has faced challenges, like the COVID-19 pandemic). However, it could see the light of day soon. In a recent interview with IGN, CEO Tobias Sjögren said the sequel is “coming along really well,” and reaffirmed the 2023 release window.
“I’m super excited about telling more about it, but we can’t at this point. We haven’t released any other information [other] than we are releasing it in 2023, but we will, and it’s going to be a lot of fun.”
Sjögren also spoke about the shift to Unreal Engine and how the developers had a “very tricky situation” with Payday 2’s technology “where we have not been able to keep our console versions of Payday 2 up to pair with the PC version. And, of course, an engine like Unreal gives you that opportunity to focus on making the game rather than the technology.”
Starbreeze is making other moves, though, opening a new UK studio to work on two new IPs it acquired. Sjögren said the company is “definitely looking at” acquiring more. In the meantime, Cinder Cone co-founders Tancred Dyke-Wells and Lawrence Bishop will head up the new company. Along with releasing their own game, Skeleton Crew, they also worked on Firewatch, Battalion Wars, and more.
Regarding the choice of the UK as a location, Sjögren said it was “one of the hubs that we were missing.” “I felt like there’s a good opportunity to connect more people from the great, really awesome UK development scene to Starbreeze, and I think opening an office there will help out.” Starbreeze is still focusing on live service for its titles for the foreseeable future. “If we don’t deliver more and new content on a swift basis after the release, we have made a big mistake.”
Interestingly, Starbreeze clarified to IGN that Plaion (formerly Koch Media) was publishing Payday 3 under the Prime Matter label. Development is in-house without Overkill’s involvement, and it’s no longer taking place in a “living, enormous representation” of New York City. The setting appears to be the same but could be on a smaller scale. Time will tell, so stay tuned for more details.
