TLDR;
Starbreeze is facing financial difficulties due to Payday 3's underperformance, leading them to implement new monetisation strategies for the 12-year-old Payday 2, including a subscription service. This decision has sparked controversy among players, especially after a perceived price hike on the "Infamous Bundle". Starbreeze is now focusing on the Payday franchise, cancelling other projects and laying off staff to concentrate resources on Payday 3 and exploring licensing opportunities to boost revenue.
- Payday 3's disappointing performance necessitates further monetisation of Payday 2.
- A subscription model for Payday 2 DLC access has been introduced, sparking player backlash.
- Starbreeze cancelled a D&D project and laid off staff to focus entirely on the Payday franchise.
- Licensing deals, such as with Roblox and PUBG, have become significant revenue contributors.
Dude, We Need The Money! [0:00]
Starbreeze is struggling financially because their new game, Payday 3, is not generating the expected revenue. Player counts are significantly lower compared to the 12-year-old Payday 2, with under 1,000 players in Payday 3 versus 30,000 in Payday 2. After launching a discount bundle at 50% off, they attempted to reduce it to 33% off, leading to public backlash and a reversal of the decision. This price adjustment coincided with the introduction of a new subscription service for Payday 2, creating a negative perception. Starbreeze has also cancelled another project and laid off staff to focus resources on the Payday franchise.
The State Of Payday [1:05]
Payday 3 has disappointed fans of Payday 2 due to missing systems and insufficient content. Despite Starbreeze rebuilding much of the game and adding more heists, Payday 3 has failed to attract players from Payday 2, which is cheaper, has more content, and supports modding. Starbreeze has released a well-regarded heist for Payday 3 and is revamping the skill system, but these improvements have not converted the Payday 2 audience. In November, Payday 3 was earning double what Payday 2 was, but this is largely because Payday 2 players bought their DLC long ago. The earnings ratio has remained consistent through 2025, prompting Starbreeze to further monetise Payday 2, leading to negative reactions.
Subscription Model [2:49]
Starbreeze is offering a subscription service that provides access to almost all Payday 2 DLC for £5 a month or £20 for six months. The last DLC for Payday 2 was released in June 2023, but DLC for the game has been releasing since 2013, resulting in a large amount of content. The total cost to acquire all Payday 2 content can exceed £200, even with discounts. The subscription aims to address this by allowing players to access the complete product for a small monthly fee. However, the Steam reviews are largely negative, with players criticising the idea of a subscription for a 12-year-old game without new content and expressing concerns that it could divert resources from Payday 3. Starbreeze maintains that the subscription has no direct impact on Payday 3 development, as it is simply a new payment option.
Secret Price Hike [5:10]
On September 5th, the discount on the Infamous Bundle, which collects almost all of Payday 2's DLC, was reduced from 50% to 33%. While individual DLC prices remained the same, the cheapest way to buy everything increased by 17%. This change went largely unnoticed until the subscription service was announced, leading players to believe that Starbreeze had inflated the bundle price to push people towards the subscription. Starbreeze acknowledged the "unfortunate timing" and "dropped the ball on communications". After public outcry, the developers reversed the discount change, calling the price increase an error. Starbreeze claims the price increase was due to a general pricing review that found the 50% discount on the Infamous Bundle was cumulative, resulting in excessive discounts during sales.
The (Payday) Brand Is The Future [7:42]
Starbreeze has been losing money for two years, and Payday revenue is the only thing keeping them afloat. As a result, they are cancelling their D&D project, firing staff, and refocusing on Payday. In May 2025, Starbreeze regained full franchise rights for Payday from Embracer Group. Payday is now the core of the company, leading to the cancellation of Project Baxter, the D&D co-op project, resulting in a £27.2 million write-off and the layoff of around 44 staff. Some staff are being redeployed to the Payday team, aiming to increase its size to 50 developers by the end of the year. The CEO stated that they are "doubling down on what our players love and what we do best, owning the heisting genre. Payday is our platform for growth."
Running Multiple Games As A Service [12:01]
Starbreeze is framing the future of Payday around four development strands: Payday Core (Payday 3 and future work), Payday Legendary (Payday 1 and 2), Payday Lore and Licensing (merchandise, comics, and transmedia), and Payday Partnerships. Partnerships have already begun, including officially licensing Notoriety, an unlicensed Payday clone in Roblox with over 227 million players, and a PUBG licensing deal with Crafton. Licensing deals have become Starbreeze's single largest revenue contributor. These four pillars of Payday have separate teams and cash flows, each theoretically supporting itself and Starbreeze's continued existence. Starbreeze is seeking new ways to monetise Payday 2's consistent audience, including limiting discounts and introducing the subscription, because they need the money. Starbreeze has improved the content pipeline across both Payday 2 and Payday 3, diverting resources from D&D to Payday. There may be new Payday 2 content coming, but Starbreeze must avoid antagonising its existing audience with moves like price increases.