Payday (video game series)
| Payday | |
|---|---|
 Logo for the first two games of the series | |
| Genre | First-person shooter |
| Developers | Overkill Software Starbreeze Studios PopReach Games Fast Travel Games Sidetrack Games |
| Publishers | Sony Online Entertainment 505 Games Deep Silver Starbreeze Studios |
| Platforms | |
| First release | Payday: The Heist 18 October 2011 |
| Latest release | Payday 3 21 September 2023 |
Payday is a first-person shooter video game series created by Overkill Software. In Payday games, players assume control of criminals who must orchestrate high-stake heists and robberies, while battling law enforcement. While players can play the games solo, all games in the series focus heavily on cooperative gameplay. The franchise had three main games: Payday: The Heist (2011), Payday 2 (2013), and Payday 3 (2023). According to Starbreeze, the franchise had sold more than 50 million copies and generated more than $400 million in revenue.[1]
Main games
| 2011 | Payday: The Heist |
|---|---|
| 2012 | |
| 2013 | Payday 2 |
| 2014 | |
| 2015 | |
| 2016 | |
| 2017 | |
| 2018 | |
| 2019 | |
| 2020 | |
| 2021 | |
| 2022 | |
| 2023 | Payday 3 |
| Payday: Crime War | |
| 2024 | Notoriety: A Payday Experience |
| 2025 | |
| TBA | Payday: Aces High |
Payday: The Heist (2011)
Payday: The Heist was developed by Overkill Software and published by Sony Online Entertainment. At launch, the game features six different heists, while post-release downloadable content packs introduced additional ones.[2] The game was released on October 19, 2011.[3] By 2011, the game had sold more than 400,000 copies.[4]
Payday 2 (2013)
In April 2012, Overkill Software was acquired by Starbreeze Studios.[4] The senior management of Overkill Software took over both companies, and initiated the development of a sequel, Payday 2, in conjunction with publisher 505 Games.[5] The team was inspired by Diablo and The Dark Knight while creating the game, and it introduces multi-stage missions and an expanded progression system.[6] Payday 2 was released on August 13, 2013, for Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.[7] An enhanced version of the game, subtitled Crimewave Edition, was released for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in June 2015[8] and for the Nintendo Switch in February 2018.[9]
It was a massive commercial success, selling more than 40 million copies and sustaining the studio when it had financial difficulties during the late 2010s.[1][5] In May 2016, Starbreeze fully acquired the intellectual property rights from 505. It was supported extensively with updates and downloadable content packs, with the developer launching a subscription service as an alternative way to access them in late 2025.[10]
On October 21, 2025, Starbreeze announced[11] partnership with Sidetrack Games, a Payday 2 modding team formerly known as the M.U.G. Team, stating that Sidetrack will continue maintaining and updating Payday 2 while Starbreeze "maintains full focus on Payday 3". After 9 month of work on June 26, 2026, Sidetrack Games announced[12] the upgrade to the game's engine titled "Diesel 3.0" and upcoming open beta testing for it starting June 30th. Some of the announced improvements added in the update included porting of the engine to 64-bit architecture, upgrade of the graphics API from DX 9 to DX 11, decreasing the file size to ~32 GB from previous size of 87 GB, and general performance improvements for modern systems.
Payday 3 (2023)
Payday 3 was confirmed by Starbreeze in 2016.[13] It was published by Deep Silver in September 2023.[14] The game had a troubled launch, with server issues causing it to be unplayable for weeks. Player count of Payday 3 quickly dwindled and was eventually surpassed by its predecessor.[15]
Other games
Payday: Crime War (2023)
Payday: Crime War is a Payday game developed for mobile platforms. The original version, developed by Cmune and published by NBCUniversal, was a competitive multiplayer game which involved two teams of players, one playing as criminals while another playing as law enforcement officers, battling each other. It was relaunched in 2023 by PopReach Games as a more condensed version of Payday 2.[16][17]
Notoriety: A Payday Experience (2024)
Notoriety: A Payday Experience is an official licensed Payday video game within Roblox. Before it was officially brought into the Payday franchise, the fan game had already accumulated more than 424 million visits by players.[18]
Payday: Aces High (TBA)
Payday: Aces High is an upcoming cooperative game designed for virtual reality platforms. The game is currently being developed by Fast Travel Games in conjunction with Starbreeze.[19]
Other media
Vice Studios had acquired the rights to create movies or TV series based on the Payday franchise.[20] Curtis Jackson later boarded the show as executive producer through his G-Unit Films and Television Inc. banner.[21]
References
- 1 2 Forbes-Calvin, Alex (March 24, 2026). "Starbreeze's Payday-focused future starts with a co-developed VR game". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Cavalli, Earnest (April 6, 2011). "Sony Online Reveals Squad-Based Crime Sim Payday: The Heist". The Escapist. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Goldfarb, Andrew (January 19, 2011). "PayDay: The Heist Release Date Announced". IGN. Retrieved March 23, 2026.
- 1 2 Handrahan, Matthew (April 19, 2012). "Starbreeze set to acquire Overkill Software". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- 1 2 Yin-Poole, Wesley (May 14, 2019). "The fall of Starbreeze". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Silva, Marty (March 12, 2013). "PayDay 2 Wants to Plan the Perfect Heist". IGN. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Sarker, Samit (August 6, 2013). "Payday 2 launching Aug. 13 on Steam, PS3 and 360 by Aug. 16". Polygon. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ "Payday 2 Brings More Cops-Versus-Robbers Shooting to Xbox One and PS4". gamespot.com. 2014-06-12. Archived from the original on 15 June 2014. Retrieved 2014-06-13.
- ↑ "PAYDAY 2™ coming to the Nintendo Switch System in February". 2017-12-12. Archived from the original on 13 December 2017. Retrieved 2017-12-12.
- ↑ Hood, Vic (September 24, 2025). "Starbreeze Entertainment launches Payday 2 subscription service on Steam". Gameindustry.biz. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Starbreeze Entertainment (21 October 2025). "PAYDAY 2: The Next Chapter". paydaythegame.com. Starbreeze AB. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Sidetrack Games (26 June 2026). "PAYDAY 2: Engine Upgrade Open-Beta Announcement". paydaythegame.com. Starbreeze AB. Retrieved 27 June 2026.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Makuch, Eddie (May 31, 2016). "Payday 3 Confirmed, Microtransactions Eliminated as Starbreeze Buys Franchise Rights". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 22, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
- ↑ Phillips, Tom (June 11, 2023). "Looks like Payday 3 launches in September". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Stanton, Rich (October 16, 2024). "Payday 3 dev reflects on 'disastrous' launch—'The game just felt unfinished… it was a bad experience'". PC Gamer. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Makuch, Eddie (April 14, 2021). "Payday Crime War Will Return With New Developer". GameSpot. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Morris, Iwan (June 6, 2023). "Payday: Crime War launches on iOS and Android". Pocket Gamer. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Phillips, Tom (December 12, 2024). "The next Payday game is a Roblox fan creation that already existed". Eurogamer. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Blake, Vikki (March 25, 2026). "Payday: Aces High Is a New 4-Player Co-op VR Game Coming to Steam and Meta Where You Can 'Pull Off Daring Jobs in VR Using Black-Market Tech'". IGN. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Maglo, Tony (March 18, 2026). "Vice Studios Lands Rights to Adapt 'Payday' Video Games for TV and Film (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved March 25, 2026.
- ↑ Otterson, Joe (August 10, 2026). "Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson Boards 'Payday' TV Series as Executive Producer (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved August 10, 2026.