The highly anticipated cooperative heist game Payday 3 has finally made its debut on console and PC, and while the game’s initial numbers were staggering, the launch was not without its share of problems. Widespread server difficulties plagued the release, leading to frustration among players. Starbreeze’s CEO even issued an apology for the server issues. Now, global brand director Almir Listo and lead producer Andreas Häll Penninger have addressed the problems in a Twitch stream, where they hinted at the possibility of an offline mode for Payday 3 in the future.
“The launch did not go as planned. We understand that many of you are incredibly frustrated and angry, and we share those sentiments,” Penniger stated. Listo and Penniger repeatedly apologized during the hour-long live Q&A session with fans on Twitch.
Regarding the potential for an offline mode, Listo explained, “We cannot definitively say yes or no at this point because it has only been four days since the launch. We did not anticipate the significant difficulties you have encountered while trying to log in.”
Listo went on to assure players that Starbreeze will provide details about a potential Payday 3 offline mode as soon as possible, but currently, the studio is unable to do so.
“We are carefully considering all options to ensure the best possible experience moving forward,” Listo stated. Penniger added that Starbreeze cannot make any commitments regarding future features for Payday 3 at this stage.
During the stream, Listo also addressed why Payday 3 requires an always-online connection, referring to a previously released statement. He explained that this decision was influenced by feedback from Payday 2, specifically in response to “widespread cheating” and unreliable hosting in the previous game. The studio also aimed to create a unified community across all platforms, including PC and consoles, and an always-online requirement ensures that everyone is playing the same version of the game simultaneously.
Additionally, Listo and Penniger confirmed that there are no plans to alter the progression system as it currently stands. However, the company is exploring the possibility of implementing features to enhance the clarity and intuitiveness of the user interface and other aspects of the game.
Furthermore, Listo and Penniger mentioned several potential features that the Starbreeze team is considering for future updates to Payday 3:
- Lobby chat with text and voice capabilities
- An “Unready” button in the lobby
- The ability to rename loadouts
- Improvements to the Challenge system
- Mouse and keyboard support for Xbox and PlayStation consoles
- A Quick Play option
- A new skill line called Transporter, allowing players to carry two loot bags
Listo emphasized that Starbreeze never intended for the launch to encounter the issues it did. He assured fans that the team is working tirelessly to address the problems and meet their expectations. However, Listo also urged patience and understanding, as the team can only do so much, especially considering that the game was just released on September 21.
Despite the challenges, Payday 3 achieved a peak concurrent player count of 218,250 across all platforms during its launch weekend. The game also garnered 1.347 million unique daily players.
The success of the Payday franchise is crucial to Starbreeze’s financial performance, so it will be intriguing to see how the company navigates these obstacles and ensures the game’s triumph both among fans and from a corporate standpoint.
