Exclusive: Starbreeze CEO Offers Payday 3 Update as New UK Studio Announced

ign.com:

In 2019, Payday 2 publisher Starbreeze Studios was on the brink of going under. The studio was facing a lack of cash on-hand to keep the company running, causing leadership to sell off assets to various companies to help save Starbreeze Studios.

Fast-forward to the present day, and Starbreeze Studios is in a much better place, introducing a brand new studio in the UK while continuing work on Payday 3. In an interview with IGN, Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren spoke about the new UK studio, and shared an update on the upcoming sequel.

"[Payday 3]'s coming along really well. I'm super excited about telling more about it, but we can't at this point in time," Sjögren said. "We haven't released any other information [other] than we are actually releasing it in 2023, but we will and it's going to be a lot of fun."

Sjögren also said Starbreeze is searching for a co-publisher for Payday 3. Developer Overkill Software and Starbreeze haven't shared much else about the sequel since it was confirmed to be in development in 2021. We know the game will be set in a "living, enormous representation" of New York City according to game director Erik Wonnevi.

The switch to Unreal Engine could be a big one for Payday 3, as Sjögren noted that the developers, "had a very tricky situation in Payday 2 where we have not been able to keep our console versions of Payday 2 up to pair with the PC version. And of course, an engine like Unreal really gives you that opportunity to focus on making the game rather than the technology."

Meanwhile, Starbreeze's new studio in the UK will work on projects for two newly-acquired IPs. Along with this, Sjögren said Starbreeze is "definitely looking at" the possibility of purchasing more IPs for the company.

The UK