We’ve known about Payday 3 for a while now, but it’s also seen a troubled development period, from the impacts of COVID-19 on development to a protracted development period. Now it seems we’re finally getting close to a release with a new years trailer launched that confirms an intention from developer Starbreeze to release Payday 3 on PC and consoles in 2023, a logo reveal, and a Steam store page going live.
A press release from Starbreeze reads,
Today Starbreeze Studios celebrates the New Year by sharing an update about the much anticipated Payday 3, reaffirming a global 2023 release on PC and consoles. While a specific release date is yet to be announced, the reveal includes the never-before-seen Payday 3 logo reveal. The Payday 3 store page on Steam is live and users may now wishlist the title and join the community hub.
Payday 3 is the sequel to Payday 2, one of the most played games on PC. Released 10 years ago in 2013, Payday 2 today has sold over 40 million copies and boasts the largest community on Steam with over 8 million players. Payday 3 takes the old crew – Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf and Chains – out of retirement. They’ve come back to a life of crime in a whole new destination, New York City.
As has been the case with past titles, Payday 3 will be a four-player cooperative heist FPS that continues the stories of Dallas, Hoxton, Wolf, and Chains as they get dragged back into the world of crime.
So far, no release date nor window had been provided, however this concrete re-confirmation from Starbreeze is a promising sign that the game now remains on track for a 2023 release. Recent comments made to IGN indicated that development was travelling well, with Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren saying,
[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. 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.
Starbreeze later confirmed that they had partnered with Plaion, and label Prime Matter to publish Payday 3, they also sought to clarify that the game was being developed in-house with fellow developer, Overkill.
Payday 3 is slated to launch in 2023, although no specific platforms, beyond PC have been confirmed.