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.
A new notice to investors details the action, though it’s unclear whether Sjögren left of his own accord or if he was let go by the company.
“On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Tobias Sjögren for his achievements during the past three years,” the statement reads, penned by board chairman Torgny Hellström. “Tobias took over the helm of Starbreeze in a challenging phase of its journey and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”
Starbreeze has appointed Juergen Goeldner as interim CEO as the company seeks different leadership going forward. Goeldner has over 40 years of experience in the industry, most recently serving as CEO of Focus Entertainment and previously working in executive roles with Square Enix and Eidos.
“Starbreeze has a strong history of developing and publishing games globally,” said Goeldner in a statement. “After launching Payday 3, the company is well-positioned to leverage the strengths of the organization to monetize and develop the IP portfolio. I am looking forward to assuming an operative position and, together with the management, ensure the execution of this strategy.”
Upon release, Payday 3 failed to meet expectations, marred by major server issues. Outages lasted for days, and as the game is online-only, players were left with a bad taste in their mouths that never seemed to completely dissipate–even after the issues were fixed.
Payday 3 was released in September 2023 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
