Tobias Sjögren

Developer Starbreeze Entertainment is finally adding an important feature to Payday 3: Quickplay.

Swedish games firm Starbreeze has appointed Mats Juhl as its latest interim CEO.

Payday 3's Operation Medic Bag's second patch is now available.

Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren has departed the studio as the company searches for «different leadership».

Six month's after Payday 3's disastrous launch, Starbreeze have parted ways with their CEO, Tobias Sjögren. In an update to investors, Starbreeze's board said that the company now requires "different leadership", and they've appointed former CEO of Focus Home Interactive Juergen Goeldner as interim CEO.

Developer Starbreeze has booted its CEO Tobias Sjögren, as Payday 3 continues to disappoint. Sjögren will be immediately replaced by interim CEO Juergen Goeldner, with the company's chairman saying that it needs "a different leadership".

Tobias Sjögren has been removed from his role as CEO of developer Starbreeze after the company's board concluded the studio «needs a different leadership» to execute its current business strategy. The announcement follows a disastrous launch for last year's Payday 3, which is still struggling to attract players in significant numbers.

Following the disastrous launch of Payday 3, Starbreeze Studios' CEO Tobias Sjögren is resigning from the company. Sjögren led the studio for three years, overseeing the development of Payday 3 and the ongoing live-service support of Payday 2, which remains one of the most active multiplayer games on Steam.

In a new report from GameDeveloper, the CEO of Starbreeze Studios Tobias Sjögren is no longer with the company. This follows the unsatisfactory release of Payday 3 last September.

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze is searching for a new CEO following the removal of Tobias Sjögren.

Following the underwhelming performance of Payday 3, Starbreeze’s Board of Directors has replaced CEO Tobias Sjögren. Board member Juergen Goeldner will act as interim CEO while the company searches for a permanent replacement. Sjögren is still available during the transition, though.

The CEO of Starbreeze has exited the company following the disastrous launch of Payday 3.

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Swedish games firm Starbreeze has said that Payday 3 has not met its expectations.

Sign up for the GI Daily here to get the biggest news straight to your inbox

Starbreeze Studios has confirmed that Payday 3 is still not meeting expectations. The latest entry into the long-running co-op heist shooter franchise was released in September 2023, but Payday 3 quickly suffered a decline in player numbers thanks to a myriad of bugs and glitches found within the game.

Payday 2 was a huge success for Starbreeze, to say the very least, but its sequel has got off to the worst possible start- or, well, close enough, at any rate. Launching with significant issues, the game was roundly criticized by critics and players upon release, and though it attracted a sizeable playerbase initially, it didn’t take long for interest to taper off, with Embracer Group – parent company of Payday 3 publisher Plaion – confirming that the game had failed to meet expectations.

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Entertainment has admitted the heist shooter is performing "significantly lower" than it would like in both sales and player engagement.

A couple of months ago, PAYDAY developer Starbreeze announced it was making a Dungeons and Dragons co-op game after licensing the popular franchise from Wizards of the Coast.

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze has said it's "well aware" fans still "aren't satisfied" with the heist shooter so have created an internal team dedicated to turning things around.

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Entertainment is developing a co-op multiplayer Dungeons & Dragons game. 

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Entertainment has announced that it's teaming up with Wizards of the Coast to create a cooperative multiplayer game based on the popular Dungeons & Dragons franchise. Starbreeze hasn't announced a name for the title just yet, but they have revealed that it's being developed under the name Project Baxter and will be released at some point in 2026.

PayDay 3 developers Starbreeze have announced a new game based on the Dungeons & Dragons IP. The title, currently codenamed Project Baxter, will launch in 2026 on all major platforms and is being built with the Unreal 5 engine.

Starbreeze has struck a  deal with Wizards of the Coast to license Dungeons & Dragons for a new game, codenamed Project Baxter.

If you've ever thought to yourself that the Payday games are great but they'd be even better if they replaced the guns and bank vaults with swords, spells, and treasure chests, Starbreeze Studios has some oddly-specific good news. Its next big project is a «co-operative multiplayer» game set in the fantasy RPG world of Dungeons and Dragons.

Today, Starbreeze announced it has partnered with Wizards of the Coast to create a Dungeons and Dragons cooperative game. The title, powered by Unreal Engine 5 technology, will be released in 2026 on all major platforms (which likely means PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S|X, and possibly even Nintendo Switch 2) with cross-play functionality.

Starbreeze Entertainment is working on a new action-adventure game based on Wizards of the Coast’s Dungeons and Dragons property. Codenamed Project Baxter, it will launch in 2026 for “all major platforms” with cross-play. Check out the first two pieces of concept art below.

Starbreeze, the studio behind the co-op first person shooter series Payday, has announced a new, officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons game.

Starbreeze Studios is trading in its crime masks for dice. The Payday developer will be developing and self-publishing a game based on Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons, with a planned release window of 2026. 

Payday devs Starbreeze are working on a co-op multiplayer game based on storied tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons. It’ll be out in 2026, and Starbreeze are being upfront with the fact it’ll be a games-as-a-service-type game.

Are you looking to showcase your brand in front of the brightest minds of the gaming industry? Consider getting a custom GamesBeat sponsorship. Learn more.

Payday maker Starbreeze is developing a Dungeons and Dragons game codenamed Project Baxter, it has announced.

Starbreeze Entertainment has announced Project Baxter, a new game based on the Dungeons & Dragons intellectual property from Wizards of the Coast. It will launch in 2026 with cross-play for “all major platforms,” and is both published and developed by Starbreeze Entertainment.

Starbreeze, the studio known for the likes of Payday, is developing a game based on the Dungeons and Dragons IP.

Starbreeze, the developer of the Payday series of games, has announced an officially licensed Dungeons & Dragons game due out at some point in 2026.

Payday 3 has been met with a fair bit of backlash due to its launch issues in recent weeks, while Embracer Grup – the parent company of Deep Silver, the shooter’s publisher – has also said that the game has performed below its expectations. However, at least where its initial sales are concerned, developer Starbreeze Studios doesn’t seem to agree.

Payday 3's release and sales expectations have been discussed by both developer Starbreeze and the studio's parent company Embracer.

It’s a mixed bag for Payday 3, Starbreeze’s co-op shooter that saw impressive early sales but has since struggled significantly.

Starbreeze has released its financial results for the three months ended September 30, 2023, reporting a significant increase in revenue following the release of Payday 3.

Payday 3's long-delayed first patch is finally here, with developer Starbreeze addressing what it calls a "massive" number of issues with the cooperative heist shooter.

Payday 3's launch was rough, with long queues awaiting would-be heisters in the always-online game, and issues with progression and absent systems awaiting those who could login. Starbreeze Studios have now begun the process of making good on promised fixes to those criticisms, with patch 1.0.1 live now. It mostly includes "minor fixes", but lots of them.

Co-op heist shooter Payday 3’s launch has gone so badly that more people are playing its 10-year-old predecessor on Steam than its sequel. Now, developer Starbreeze has apologised for its lack of communication, and explained the holdup with Payday 3’s first patch.

It’s always a pretty contentious matter when games require an always-online connection in order to run, so there’s no doubt that many will be pleased that Activision has removed this requirement for the Steam Deck version of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. 

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze has apologised for its lack of communication surrounding the game's highly anticipated first patch, which promises to address the disastrous launch.

The first major patch for Payday 3 is facing yet another delay, after the developers “identified some issues that need to be fixed” before it can be released. 

Almost a month after Payday 3's disastrous launch, its highly-anticipated first patch, which is said to include over 200 quality of life improvements, has been delayed a second time with no estimated release date.

If Starbreeze themselves were actually a Payday 3 heisting team I suspect they'd be verging on putting money back into the vault at this stage - retracing their steps with bulging duffel bags, while apologising to security guards not so much for the whole bank robbery thing as for smashing so many utilities on their way out. Shortly after announcing plans to make the four-player PvE shooter less online-dependent, the developers have announced that they're also reworking Payday 3's much-reviled progression system.

was finally released on all current-gen consoles and PC — and was included as part of the main Xbox, PC, and Ultimate Game Pass tiers — on September 21, 2023. The title was highly anticipated by fans of the heist shooter series who had waited just over a decade since the release of its predecessor,, but unfortunately, it has suffered from one of the worst launches of the year so far. Developer Starbreeze Studios seems intent on turning things around, though, promising over 200 improvements are on the way.

Following a disastrous launch which led to Payday 3 nosediving to a Mostly Negative rating on Steam, developer Starbreeze has promised over 200 quality-of-life changes this month, as well as further improvements scheduled in a series of patches set to release throughout the rest of the year.

To say that Payday 3, Starbreeze’s long-awaited follow-up in the heist shooter series, had problems would be an understatement. Matchmaking issues, lackluster solo play that’s always online, the list goes on (check out our review for more details). Nevertheless, it has proven popular. The publisher announced 3,167,938 unique players for September 2023.

Starbreeze Studios has said that the issues that have been disrupting Payday 3 since the game launched have now been fixed.

Starbreeze has shared a new letter updating the public about the state of Payday 3.

After a disastrous launch that saw Payday 3 unplayable for many, developer Starbreeze has declared the matchmaking issues over, opening the door to a big update for October.

Payday 3 finally launched last month, more than six years after its initial reveal in 2017. We quite enjoyed it, and you can find out why in Game Informer's Payday 3 review. Despite our enjoyment, many players encountered severe matchmaking issues that made it tough to play the game given its always-online nature. Now, just under two weeks after the game's launch, developer Starbeeze Studios says the matchmaking issues are fixed. 

PayDay 3's matchmaking issues have been fixed, developer Starbreeze has announced.

The issues that plagued Payday 3 have now been fixed, according to developer Starbreeze.

This morning, Starbreeze provided another update on PAYDAY 3, the highly anticipated third installment in the cooperative first-person heist shooter game. Firstly, the Swedish studio said the matchmaking issues that plagued the game's launch were fixed thanks to a two-stage process. The matchmaking software was updated, and the infrastructure was upgraded with more regional nodes, improving redundancy across online services and increasing matchmaking speed in PAYDAY 3.

Multiplayer heist sim PAYDAY 3's launch has been anything but smooth, with massive numbers of players unable to access the game. Plagued by server and matchmaking issues, the always online nature of the title is exacerbating the situation still further.

Heist shooter threequel, PAYDAY 3, has had a very rocky launch. Developer Starbreeze has been putting out fires since launch day, as matchmaking issues and other server-related problems have stopped an eager player base from, well, playing. The game's always-online requirement means it's even affecting those looking to play solo. As the studio works to stabilise the game, it appears it's looking into creating ways to play it offline.

Payday 3 studio Starbreeze is investigating the possibility of removing the game’s always-online requirement, following major server issues at launch.

Starbreeze Studios’ Payday 3 was released on September 21st for Standard Edition owners after a short early access period and faced several issues. Matchmaking errors meant the game was unavailable for most players, and it doesn’t help that even solo play isn’t possible without being connected online.

As Payday 3’s matchmaking issues continue, its developer is looking into adding an offline mode.

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze Studios has confirmed that it’s looking towards making the new heist shooter “less dependent on online services”, following the constant server issues and matchmaking problems encountered by players from launch. 

You may have read that always-online crime caper Payday 3 has had a disastrous launch, with players forced into long queues for the privilege of playing by themselves. The chaos continues this week, as developer Starbreeze has now elected to take the game wholly offline for several hours at a time across Tuesday 26th and Friday 28th September, while exploring ways to minimise the game's reliance on internet access.

Starbreeze's Payday 3 released over the weekend, and has already hit 1.3 million unique players. In a new press release, the developer confirmed the milestone covers both PC and consoles (PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S), and peaked at a concurrent player count of 218,250. 

Payday 3 just recently launched into the marketplace. It’s certainly had a following of players eager to try the game out. Likewise, the title is available on the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. So, there are plenty of players who are able to gain access to the title. However, very few are finding it to be a seamless experience. With the game requiring an always-online connection, the matchmaking service has failed to keep up, forcing players to deal with waiting for the services to be up and running. 

The launch of heist-shooter Payday 3 last week has not gone well. Persistent server problems have frustrated players, and the game's always-online requirement means that even people who want to play solo are having trouble getting into the game. The net result: A disastrous «mostly negative» user rating on Steam, where 68% of the nearly 25,000 user reviews are now thumbs down.

Payday 3 developer Starbreeze says that matchmaking and server issues with the heist-driven shooter are connected to software updates created and released by a “third-party matchmaking partner,” and that as instability continues, the developer will be “evaluating” a new partner for Payday 3 online services. In the wake of Payday 3 server issues, the game’s Steam rating has dropped to ‘mostly negative’ as players struggle to access matches and confront long wait times.

Starbreeze shared a press release update for PAYDAY 3 this morning. The Swedish company mentioned that the game peaked at 1.3 million daily active users (DAU) across all platforms during the launch weekend, with a concurrent peak of 218K users. This isn't surprising, given that PAYDAY 3 was hotly anticipated and is also available on Game Pass from day one.

Payday 3 had a less-than-spectacular launch yesterday, as Starbreeze Studios' first-person shooter was plagued with server issues. With the developer under scrutiny, the studio's CEO has apologized for the issues.

Server issues strike another big game, though Starbreeze says they should be fixed now.