Payday 2 was a huge success for Starbreeze, to say the very least, but its sequel has got off to the worst possible start- or, well, close enough, at any rate. Launching with significant issues, the game was roundly criticized by critics and players upon release, and though it attracted a sizeable playerbase initially, it didn’t take long for interest to taper off, with Embracer Group – parent company of Payday 3 publisher Plaion – confirming that the game had failed to meet expectations.
And it doesn’t seem like it has made much of a recovery. On the contrary, the game continues to perform poorly. In Starbreeze’s recent quarterly fiscal report, CEO Tobias Sjögren said Payday 3 is sales and player numbers are “at significantly lower levels than we would like”. He went on to add, however, that the company remains committed to improving the game and ensuring that it wins players over.
“Payday 3 sales and player activity are currently at significantly lower levels than we would like,” Sjögren said. “Our biggest focus and absolute priority, both during and after the quarter, are the efforts needed to ensure that the game lives up to expectations. We are working closely with our co-publishing partner Plaion to identify the changes that we will implement, in both the short- and long-term, that add the most value to the gaming experience. The Payday 3 team will in February announce the changes and improvements that are prioritized for implementation.
“There are many examples from the game industry, where a problematic initial time on the market is turned into long-term success. There is no simple recipe available, but a common thread from the positive examples is to take players’ criticism to heart, dare to support your game and keeping an open and honest dialogue with your stakeholders. That is exactly what we are now doing with Payday 3.
“Few companies are blessed with a brand as strong as Payday. At a time when our most recent game is lagging, Payday 2 has fared slightly better than expected financially and with more than 400,000 active players in single months during the quarter. It shows the strength of the brand, and our potential to convert these to Payda 3 as we deliver on our commitments.”
Since its release, in addition to multiple patches, Payday 3 has also seen the launch of free DLC in the form of two Legacy Heists in November, with its first paid DLC, Syntax Error, following in December. Starbreeze will be revealing more details on its future plans for Payday 3 sometime this month.
In our review of the game, we gave it a score of 5/10, saying, “Starbreeze Studios’ Payday 3 improves the series’ base gameplay but falls behind on progression, matchmaking, quality of life and more. The lack of social options makes it an even lesser co-op experience.” Read the full review through here.
Payday 3 is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
