Starbreeze Studios has successfully secured the publishing rights for its troubled heist sequel, Payday 3. This strategic move is aimed at boosting content development speed and unlocking wider business prospects for the franchise as a whole.
Since its launch in September 2023, Payday 3 faced a rocky debut, grappling with severe matchmaking problems, unpopular online-only gameplay, and repeated delays in its first major patch. Consequently, player numbers experienced a sharp decline, with the game consistently falling short of its predecessor’s popularity. Acknowledging this setback, Starbreeze admitted last year that player counts were “significantly lower than [they] would like.” Just a month later, the board removed CEO Tobias Sjögren, prompting a fresh creative leadership team to step in last December.
In light of these challenges, Starbreeze announced a “mutual agreement” with its former publisher, Plaion, allowing them to fully take over the game’s publishing rights. To finance this acquisition, Starbreeze revealed it will issue new shares valued at SEK 33 million, with around SEK 29 million (approximately £2.3 million) allocated to settle outstanding obligations under the previous agreement with Plaion.
In conjunction with this news, board member Thomas Lindgren expressed optimism, stating that acquiring Payday 3 would empower Starbreeze to “significantly accelerate [its] content development roadmap and explore broader strategic opportunities for the Payday franchise overall.”
Furthermore, despite the challenges faced by the latest installment, Starbreeze hinted at potential future projects within the franchise. “While this agreement signifies the end of the current publishing arrangement,” the studio noted in its announcement, “it also lays the foundation for a long-term collaboration between Starbreeze and Plaion on future Payday franchise endeavors.”
In a review from 2023, Nova Play contributor Vikki Blake awarded Payday 3 three out of five stars, describing it as a “shallow shooter that doesn’t deliver sufficient satisfaction for your ill-gotten gains.”
