Payday 3 is Still Having Serious Problems

Summary

Payday 3 has not met expectations due to bugs and glitches, leading to a decline in player numbers.
Starbreeze Studios is actively working to improve the game through a dedicated team and regular DLC.
Payday 3 may be struggling, but the previous installment, Payday 2, is still popular with a large player base.

Starbreeze Studios has confirmed that Payday 3 is still not meeting expectations. The latest entry into the long-running co-op heist shooter franchise was released in September 2023, but Payday 3 quickly suffered a decline in player numbers thanks to a myriad of bugs and glitches found within the game.

Despite these issues at launch, steps have already been made by Starbreeze Studios to keep players engaged. The recently announced Payday 3 roadmap laid out plans to enhance the player experience with the cooperative heist game. This includes the creation of a dedicated team to manage the game’s overhaul along with more regular DLC. In the latest report to investors, the Swedish video game developer gives an honest picture of the current state of the game.

Following the latest earnings report from Starbreeze Studios, CEO Tobias Sjögren admitted that Payday 3 isn’t at the level the company was expecting. The player count remains low for the latest installment of the long-running heist franchise. However, the team is confident that it can entice gamers back to the fold. Sjögren went on to reinforce that the team at Strabreeze Studios will continue to develop improvements to the core experience of Payday 3 and highlighted that there were other examples of games that recovered from problematic launches.

Payday 3 Has Been Negatively Received

As it stands, Payday 3 is one of the more negatively received games of recent times. On Steam, the game has a “Mostly Negative” rating, with 28,715 negative reviews logged by gamers. With the admission that the latest Payday isn’t where it needs to be, the Swedish developer has told fans to expect more information on both the long-term and short-term plans to revive the game by the end of February 2024.

While Payday 3 may be struggling to retain players, it seems that the well-established Payday 2 is seeing a boom in its player count. Starbreeze Studios reported that in one month during the last quarter, the decade-old game saw 400,000 active gamers logged into the servers, showing there is still a vested interest in the franchise as a whole.

It is not all bad news for fans of Payday 3. Despite the drop in player numbers, Payday 3 still drove revenue for Starbreeze Studios. As a result of this, the team remains committed to improving the game and introducing additional content. It remains to be seen what shape the future DLC will look like, but the next announcement on this is set to take place before the end of February 2024.

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Payday 3

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4 /10

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Released: September 21, 2023

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Step out of retirement back into the life of crime in the shoes of the Payday Gang, the envy of their peers and the nightmare of law-enforcement wherever they go. Several years after the crew’s reign of terror over Washington DC has ended, they assemble once again to deal with the threat that roused them out of early retirement.

The legendary Payday Crew, dreaded by the law and underworld alike, is back. Ripped from their peaceful retirement to rejoin the criminal world by a new threat, one born from the chaos the Crew left in their wake. In order to identify and crush this new threat, the Crew is leaving their Washington DC roots behind them and moving to New York City. A new location will bring with it new challenges, but also new opportunities for a heister with a plan.

A professional heister knows it takes planning, hard work and a good amount of luck in order to execute a successful heist. In PAYDAY 3 the choice is put in the hands of the players, deciding how to tackle the heist, whether you sneak or go in guns blazing, whether you let your hostages go or keep them around as pawns, whether you go at it alone or bring friends. The choices are endless and in your hands, they will vastly change how the game plays.