“It is with great satisfaction that we also can announce that Payday 3 production is officially initiated and at a full design stage. I’d like to especially clarify that this project will enjoy as much time as we deem needed,” Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint said in a year-end report. “This is our single most important brand today and the cornerstone of our business and we will treat is accordingly. Updates in the future might be scarce and far between. You simply don’t rush Payday 3.”
The emphasis on not rushing Payday 3 likely stems from the headaches Starbreeze endured following the console release of Payday 2 in 2015. The Xbox One version in particular was rife with matchmaking issues, making the game essentially unplayable. Fans still complained of problems going into the next year, and it currently sits at an abysmal 3.3 user score on Metacritic.
Starbreeze also clarified that Payday’s mobile spinoff, Payday: Crime War, is still in development, but production has moved to BadFly Interactive in addition to a new Starbreeze Barcelona studio. BadFly itself drew controversy earlier this year when it threatened to blacklist websites that gave its game Dead Effect 2 a poor review score.
Outside of traditional game development, Starbreeze also continues to experiment with virtual reality. A VR center in Los Angeles, made in partnership with IMAX, is underway, and will include John Wick Chronicles: Arcade Edition for players to try out. If all goes well, more location-based VR centers will pop up around the United States in the future. The studio has also entered the publishing space and is working with Double Fine to release the long-awaited Psychonauts 2.
