‘Payday 3’ has been confirmed, but don’t expect it anytime soon

By Gabe Gurwin Published February 17, 2017

Swedish developer Starbreeze Studios, best known for its Payday series of crime-focused first-person shooters, has revealed that Payday 3 is officially in development. However, don’t expect to see the game anytime soon, as no release window was offered with the announcement.

“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.”

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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.

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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.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Gabe Gurwin has been playing games since 1997, beginning with the N64 and the Super Nintendo. He began his journalism career…

Gaming

The best skills to research first in Payday 3

Players run away in Payday 3

While there are no classes to pick between in Payday 3, you do still have complete control over how your character plays and what role they will have in any given heist. The obvious changes will be in your weapons and equipment loadouts, but it is in the skill system where you are really free to personalize your masked criminal. You begin the game with two unlocked naturally, but quickly see that there are dozens more to unlock and try out within various categories. You're not able to simply pick any one that looks good and give it a try, though, but must instead research them before you're able to unlock them. Considering this will take a few missions at least with you and your friends, here are the ones you should prioritize researching first in Payday 3.
How skills and buffs work

Researching a skill is mostly passive, but you do need to select which skill you want to be working on at any time -- you can't research them all at once. If you don't pick one, the game will automatically apply research to the first skill in the list, which likely isn't going to be what you want. To choose which skill you want to research, just highlight it in the skill menu and choose "Research" to mark it as the skill your points will go toward.

Gaming

All weapons in Payday 3 and how to unlock them

Robbers shoot guns in Payday 3.

No one should walk into a robbery in Payday 3 without a reliable gun in their back pocket. Sure, there are plenty of skills and tools to help you and your gang pull off many jobs with no one being the wiser, but mistakes happen. And when they do, you'll be glad to have some firepower on your side. You won't be picking up or finding weapons on the map in Payday 3, and instead must rely completely on which weapons you have equipped in your loadout before starting a heist. You will only start off with a single assault rifle and pistol to your name, but there is a nice selection of shotguns, revolvers, and marksman rifles to add to your kit. Here are all the guns you can unlock in Payday 3 and how.
All weapons in Payday 3

Guns in Payday 3 are all first unlocked by reaching a certain level. Levels are simply gained by completing heists and objectives in the game, so every match you play will contribute toward your overall level. Once you reach a threshold where a new weapon becomes available, you can head into the Vendors menu and purchase t with your cash so they become available when building your loadout. Here's every weapon you get in the order you naturally unlock them:

Gaming

Is Payday 3 cross-platform?

Four players fight in Payday 3.

The PayDay series made a name for itself among the other contemporary co-op shooters of the time by putting players in the role of criminals attempting to pull off various heists. Each game in the series has upped the ante on more creative and fun places to burgle, break into, and extort for the titular payday. The latest entry, PayDay 3, offers plenty of new content as expected, but retains that core formula of teaming up with friends to coordinate the perfect job. However, it has been many years since the last entry so this will be the first exposure to the series for many players. With the game being available on all platforms, and even included at launch on Game Pass, you may want to stake out this article to learn if PayDay 3 supports cross-play.
Does Payday 3 have crossplay?

Yes, PayDay 3 fully supports crossplay between all platforms, including PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. When booting up the game for the first time you will be prompted on whether or not you want to enable cross-play, so simply accept it and you will be good to go. If you select to not enable it, you can always switch it back on in the settings menu.

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