Starbreeze CEO Resigns

12.03.2024 - 18:59 / gamerant.com / Starbreeze Studios / Tobias Sjögren

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.

Sadly, Payday 3 has not enjoyed the success of its predecessor. The game has been plagued by serious technical issues since its release in 2023, with many players not even able to connect to the game's servers. Starbreeze has been steadfast in its support for the title, laying out a long-term roadmap and issuing regular updates, which have addressed some of players' most common complaints, but the game still isn't where it should be, per Starbreeze's admission. As it stands, Payday 3's concurrent player count is dwarfed byPayday 2, which released in 2013.

Amid the fight to redeem Payday 3, IGN reports that Sjögren has stepped down, and is to be replaced by board member Juergen Goeldner in the interim. Starbreeze Chariman Torgny Hellström, who issued the statement, did not cite Payday 3's poor performance as the reason for Sjögren's departure, instead stating that the company's «execution of strategy needs a different leadership.» Hellström would go on to thank Sjögren for his support during «a challenging phase of [Starbreeze's] development.»

With Sjögren out and the company's strategy potentially shifting direction, it's unclear what will become of Payday 3. While Payday 3 will still get support from Starbreeze in the form of server updates, bug fixes, content drops, and general post-launch polish, it's unlikely that Starbreeze expects a major sea change for the game. It's certainly possible for Swedish developer to turn things around, and Payday 3 could ultimately become a success story, but Starbreeze, publisher Plaion, and parent company Embracer Group are most likely not betting on this outcome, especially when Payday 2 is apparently in the midst of a renaissance; perhaps the company will choose to instead shift support to the 2013 game to retain its dedicated playerbase.

In the meantime, Starbreeze will continue working on an untitled Dungeons and Dragons game, which could supplant the Payday series as the company's premier live-service multiplayer title. This game, along with the future ofPayday 3and Payday 2, may be shaped by the leadership of Sjögren's permanent replacement, who has not yet been announced.

Payday 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Overkill Software that was released in September 2023. 

The game is set after the end of its predecessor, Payday 2, and features the original cast of characters from 2011's Payday: The Heist.