Starbreeze regains control of Payday 3 and sets new directions

Starbreeze Studios announced that it has acquired the publishing rights for Payday 3, previously held by Plaion, with the justification of accelerating its "content development roadmap" and opening up space for "new strategic opportunities for the Payday franchise as a whole." The deal comes amid the title's crisis, which has been struggling with low numbers since its launch in September 2023.

The announcement, made this Monday (May 6), marks an attempt to restructure the game's future after a turbulent history. "This agreement allows Starbreeze to fully acquire the publishing rights for Payday 3, significantly accelerate our content development schedule, and pursue broader strategic opportunities for the franchise," stated Thomas Lindgren, a member of the company's board.

"We appreciate Plaion's support, which demonstrates its confidence in Starbreeze's future and strengthens our strategic alignment with major global players in the industry," Lindgren added.

Although the language of the announcement points to optimism, Payday 3's current scenario is critical. Since its launch, the game has faced technical issues, delays in updates, and controversial design decisions, such as the requirement of a permanent connection. The impact was immediate: the public reception was mostly negative, and efforts to recover the game have repeatedly failed.

The crisis's effects were visible within the company's structure: in March 2024, the game director left his position, just six months after the Starbreeze CEO's departure.

Meanwhile, the number of active players remains dismal. According to SteamDB data, Payday 3 hardly surpasses 1,000 simultaneous players, while Payday 2, released 12 years ago, consistently remains among the top 100 most played games on Steam.

With this takeover, there are expectations — albeit modest — that Starbreeze can deliver updates more quickly. In forums such as Reddit and within the Steam community, some players believe that Plaion's departure may, at least, eliminate bureaucratic obstacles in development. However, others point out that the errors are rooted in the developer's decisions themselves, not in their publishing partnership.

The mention of future collaborations with Plaion and new "strategic opportunities" raises doubts about whether the real focus is still on saving Payday 3 or just closing this chapter and preparing the ground for new projects within the franchise.

To turn Payday 3 into a success, more than just total control will be needed: it will be necessary to rebuild the community's trust, reverse misguided design decisions, and deliver quality content at an accelerated pace — something that Starbreeze still needs to prove it can do.