Payday's 'Left 4 Dead but you're bank robbers' has been a hugely successful formula for developer Overkill. It's no wonder the studio has plans for a sequel, but you might not have been expecting it to be coming in three years time, especially when Payday 2 was released way back in 2013.
The news comes from a recent post on Starbreeze's corporate blog (Overkill is a subsidiary of Starbreeze), dealing with the company's future cash flow. It says that "The company estimates that these cash flows will be positive, based on expected new publishing agreements in 2020 and an expected release of Payday 3 in 2022-2023."
Following the release of Overkill's The Walking Dead, which was a flop both critically and commercially, Starbreeze entered reconstruction (which is roughly the Swedish equivalent of going into administration). Starbreeze's CEO left the company over the matter, too. This is why they're being open about their plans for a Payday sequel, because they need to show a bright financial future for the company.
Since the release of Payday 2 back in 2013, the game's been steadily expanded and supported. It's one of the early examples of a Game as a Service, where it has no definitive end but keeps receiving support as long as there are players still playing. There are no details about what a new Payday would include or tackle - though, it would be exciting to see a radical change up of the scope and formula. The first Payday was released only 2 years before Payday 2, so the sequel was developed fairly rapidly and didn't diverge much from the first game. With (at the time of the release, ten years between the release of Payday 2 and Payday 3, it will be interesting to see what Overkill wants to change with its heist 'em up.
Are you still playing Payday 2?
Featured Image Credit: Starbreeze