PayDay 3 had a huge crash at the start and was severely punished by the fans. MeinMMO author Cedric Holmeier returns to the shooter in 2026 and clarifies the question: Can you still have fun with it from a fun perspective?
I am a PayDay veteran. Right from the start of PayDay The Heist in 2011, the concept of semi-seriously robbing a bank with my friends was exactly my thing. Even today, I can recite some mission announcements and keep returning to the old-school shooter.
I pre-ordered PayDay 2 and completed pretty much every mission there between one and a dozen times on both loud and quiet. For me and my friends, PayDay was our “main game” for years, which we always came back to when there was nothing else available.
12 years after it all started with PayDay The Heist, we had to take a look at the sequel as well – and we were disappointed. Poor performance, overloaded servers, online-only requirement, a weird armor system, and downgraded missions were exactly the opposite of what we had hoped for.
Like many others, we quickly switched back to PayDay 2. But in 2026, more than two years after the release, we gave the sequel PayDay 3 another chance.
Here you can watch a trailer for PayDay 3:
No Hype, No Hate, Just PayDay 3
Especially when everything goes haywire at release, new features are no fun at all, and the mood in Discord is already down after a few rounds due to poor performance, people quickly say: The game is bad.
Upon our return in 2026, it was exactly the opposite: We returned without expectations, without a particular update in mind and without knowing what had really changed. Our goal was simply to have fun and pull off a heist or two like in the old times.
And that went surprisingly well. The developers made a conscious choice for a different rhythm in PayDay 3 than before. Instead of stretching some missions over several days and varying between stealth and loud jobs, everything in PayDay 3 happens in one go.
First, you enter the bank as a civilian without a mask, are allowed to explore the location unnoticed, and can also manipulate some roller shutters and ventilation shafts. If you get caught, you’ll get booted out, but the mission is far from failed.
This is how missions typically start quietly and then – because one of my talented friends was inattentive again – quickly become loud. But there’s something to be happy about, because every progress made on the “quiet path” helps even if you ultimately have to brute-force your way through. Although many missions can also be completed completely quietly or very loudly, we usually tried to find a middle ground.
Zipline against Bus
Even though I like this new rhythm, I still miss the divided sections from the predecessor a lot. Stretching heists over different days gave PayDay 2 a brilliant rogue-like character: You could lose everything.
If you first robbed a gallery and didn’t do it quietly, you had to get the loot to safety or sell it under fire. But if you played it smart, the stolen paintings in mission 3 were equipped with cameras that gave us a massive advantage. That was just genius.
The same goes for properly planning missions: Which exit? Which drill? Hacker or sniper for support? In PayDay 3, unfortunately, these preparations feel like a stripped-down approach that was just inserted so that it’s not completely missing. But to be honest: A zipline placed on the roof does not replace the epic feeling from part 2 of crashing a damn bus through a wall to blow up a new escape route.
In stealth, there are traps like lasers that you have to dodge, and the new enemies in loud mode push you out of cover much more frequently. PayDay 3 is clearly superior to its predecessor in these aspects.
Conclusion
Gather 4 friends, PayDay 3 with all DLCs, a free evening, and your drink of choice – and you will have fun. However, the less of these parameters are fulfilled, the more evident the weaknesses become. If you have to choose from the few standard levels included with the purchase as a small group, the fun of playing quickly comes to an end, especially when compared to the seemingly endless missions from part 2.
PayDay 3 is better in 2026 than many fans want to admit, but it is consciously different. If you want to go on a heist with friends that is a bit more challenging and can do without the old “goof” factor, you will be very happy with this title.
For those for whom PayDay 3 should only differ from its predecessor through graphical innovations and a few new levels, part 3 will likely continue to be nothing.
Despite the devastating criticisms at launch, the developers have continued to patch their title. Recently, the hated online requirement was removed and the game has been prepared for infinity thanks to peer-to-peer mode. Why the launch of PayDay 3 went so horribly can be read here: Payday 3 was one of the most desired games on Steam – now the shooter fails miserably, fans complain, and are disappointed
Moreover, there is a clear weak point in PayDay 3 when it comes to the number of missions. PayDay 2 had a very strong lineup. In PayDay 3, the selection is significantly reduced, largely due to the increased complexity of the levels. That’s a shame.
PayDay like from Fantasy
What I noticed positively while playing is the improved engine. Although PayDay 3 still looks like PayDay, the technology behind it is no longer so outdated. New obstacles like lasers, special drones, or blocking paths with law enforcement feel really refreshing.
What has also improved significantly is the system around health and armor. Just a reminder: In PayDay 3, there are armors and health points. If an armor is broken, you need a new plate, while health points can only be restored with a medkit.
If you forgo armor, you become more agile and can sneak better. This is now well implemented, as there are always small medkits in all levels, like the ones you would find in public places. You can heal yourself there, which makes the game more manageable even with little armor.
When Overkill Weapons and AI Annoy
However, not everything that glitters is gold. PayDay 3 actually wanted to satisfy the desire for defeating overpowered enemies with “Overkill Weapons.” Each player gets the ability to have a pre-selected OP weapon like an anti-material sniper delivered by a transport drone.
Personally, this happened to me far too often. By the end of each loud mission, several packages were left unused – simply because it didn’t feel particularly rewarding to mow down dozens of cops.
Things get really bitter with the AI, especially when you play PayDay 3 only with two players. In loud missions, the AI tends to run into the main street with the most valuable loot, gets taken out, only to then sacrifice the other AI buddy while reviving them. There were already mods for PayDay 2 that solved this better.
Too Little Goof
Another very important point: PayDay 2 is goofy. This is not a GenZ TikTok word but simply describes the way the game was played due to its limitations.
Be it launching guards in the right direction with a shotgun, bunny-hopping on the floor, or getting frustrated for the umpteenth time because you were discovered due to a poor connection to the host.
The developers have significantly improved this in part 3 and removed exactly this goofiness. Objectively that’s good, but it also means that you don’t feel as “at home” in PayDay 3 as you did in PayDay 2 or The Heist.
PayDay 2 never wanted to be funny, but it was. PayDay 3 is not funny, but in some places tries hard to be – this comparison is often echoed in the community and is absolutely justified.
New and Old Missions
Personally, I think: PayDay 2 is PayDay 2 and PayDay 3 is PayDay 3! Accordingly, I am also not a fan of putting myself in PayDay 3 instead of the cooks in the drug lab for the 100th time in my life. Even if missions like “Cook Off” are extremely popular among fans, I simply see no justification for reheated levels in the still relatively young lifespan of PayDay 3.
However, the new missions are really good, some of which are only available via DLC. The new heists are extremely versatile and no longer feel as linear as the levels from the predecessor. Instead of just following gang A, B, or C, you go into the basement of a building, then up to the roof, you can climb along the facade and discover shortcuts along the way.
In stealth, there are traps like lasers that you have to dodge, and the new enemies in loud mode push you out of cover much more frequently. PayDay 3 is clearly superior to its predecessor in these aspects.
Conclusion
Gather 4 friends, PayDay 3 with all DLCs, a free evening, and your drink of choice – and you will have fun. However, the less of these parameters are fulfilled, the more evident the weaknesses become. If you have to choose from the few standard levels included with the purchase as a small group, the fun of playing quickly comes to an end, especially when compared to the seemingly endless missions from part 2.
PayDay 3 is better in 2026 than many fans want to admit, but it is consciously different. If you want to go on a heist with friends that is a bit more challenging and can do without the old “goof” factor, you will be very happy with this title.
For those for whom PayDay 3 should only differ from its predecessor through graphical innovations and a few new levels, part 3 will likely continue to be nothing.
Despite the devastating criticisms at launch, the developers have continued to patch their title. Recently, the hated online requirement was removed and the game has been prepared for infinity thanks to peer-to-peer mode. Why the launch of PayDay 3 went so horribly can be read here: Payday 3 was one of the most desired games on Steam – now the shooter fails miserably, fans complain, and are disappointed
Your opinion is important to us!
Do you like the article? Then let us know!