Starbreeze have delayed for the second time a very much needed patch for PayDay 3. The game’s always-online requirement made it unplayable for many at launch as servers ran in to “an unforeseen error”.
28.09.2023 - 00:03 / pushsquare.com / Tobias Sjögren
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.
An «unforeseen error» with the game's matchmaking software essentially put it out of action as players piled onto the servers. While Starbreeze's online services partner has been working to make improvements, a subsequent software update tanked the game again. «The issue in question did not manifest during Technical Betas or Early Access due to the specificity of rapid user influx and load-balancing,» Starbreeze says, assuring it's working hard for short- and long-term solutions.
In addition to «evaluating a new partner for matchmaking services», Starbreeze has stated its aim to make PAYDAY 3 «less dependent on online services». It's this quote that has fans hoping for offline functionality.
This has been backed up on X, where Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren says the team is looking into adding «some sort of offline mode» in the future.
Obviously the situation is far from ideal, but it seems the team is on the right track. Hopefully an offline mode comes to fruition in the near future.
Have you been having trouble playing PAYDAY 3? Tell us in the comments section below.
Having grown up alongside PlayStation, Stephen has developed an eclectic taste in video games and a wide knowledge of the medium, from small indie gems to the biggest AAA blockbusters. Ever hopeful that the Burnout series makes a miraculous return.
Should've been in the game in the first place.
Can the always-online requirement to play solo or single player modes/games just die out already.
Could never understand it in the Hitman Trilogy.
@N1ghtW1ng I hated it. I played the games years after launch (H1&2) and they had these insane loading times for no reason. I couldn't do the elusive contracts or whatever because the time had already expired. Makes me nervous for their Bond game.
I remember when Starbreeze made The Darkness...good times.
Jade Raymond and the team behind Faigame$ are going to be happy when hearing about the disastrous launch of Payday 3.
@Powerplay94
I also played H1 & H2 years after their initial launches, and had the exact same experience.
I truly enjoyed both games (been a fan of the series since I played the first Hitman on PC in 2001), but it sucked missing out on the Elusive Targets.
@AdamNovice
I remember The Darkness, it was one of the first games I played on the PS3 back in 2007.
Starbreeze have delayed for the second time a very much needed patch for PayDay 3. The game’s always-online requirement made it unplayable for many at launch as servers ran in to “an unforeseen error”.
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Starbreeze have delayed for the second time a very much needed patch for PayDay 3. The game’s always-online requirement made it unplayable for many at launch as servers ran in to “an unforeseen error”.
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.
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Starbreeze has shared a new letter updating the public about the state of Payday 3.