Payday 3 was a monumental failure, but its developers still believe they can save it

This 2024 we have experienced so many tremendous failures in the world of video games that sometimes we forget that in 2023 we had a disaster like Payday 3, which continued the story of the second part 12 years later and whose proposal did not quite hit the mark: the criticism was rather cold towards it, even saying it was completely empty, and the audience did not reach the numbers the studio expected. Now, a year later, they continue to insist that the game can still be saved.

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To steal wallets

When Payday 3 was released last year, the game didn’t allow anyone to join online matches for several days. When the servers finally allowed it, no one was excited enough to make it a must-play or a game to return to time and again. The numbers have dropped from 1.3 million players to just 724 (right now), less than 10% of those playing the second part, and that should be enough to dampen anyone’s spirits. But not Starbreeze.

Throughout these months, Starbreeze has dismissed two CEOs, which does not give a good brand image, but now they seem to believe they are in a position to give the public what it wants. In fact, they have realized that the game “suffers from a multiple personality, trying to be many things at once.” They have time to make the game focused, and to make each mission “more tense and valuable.”

But, when a game from a year ago doesn’t even reach an average of 1000 players, is surpassed by its prequel, and clearly doesn’t have an established community, is it really worth trying to turn it around, especially when it’s not a game as a service and, therefore, can’t be changed overnight without spending a fortune along the way? If they manage to do it, in some magical way, it will be something unprecedented and incredible to see, but the truth is that anyone else would have abandoned ship or would have tried with a possible Payday 4. Wonders never cease, Sancho.