The multiplayer shooter Payday 3 (PC, PS 5, Xbox Series) is set to be released on September 21. It is one of the 5 most wanted games on Steam. But the mood is at rock bottom before the release: some fans want to see the game burn and fail.
This is situation 3:
- Payday 3 was announced back in May 2016, but it is only now being released, 7 years later, on Steam and consoles, due to turmoil at the studio behind the game for years. The two brothers behind the studio, Ulf and Bo Anderson, are no longer part of “Overkill Studio”.
- Since the release of Payday 2 in 2013, something has been off: Payday 2 was a major success, but the studio behind it, “Overkill Software,” fell apart afterward. Lead developer Ulf Andersson burned out, left the company, and continued working on GTFO. The studio completely overextended itself with the Zombie flop “The Walking Dead”. The second brother, Bo Andersson, was fired.
- Payday 3 is now set to release after Plaion (formerly Koch Media) stepped in with a substantial cash injection and provided the struggling Swedish publisher Starbreeze with new financial strength.
Payday 3 goes solo, but only online, not offline
Which decision is causing trouble now? During a YouTube stream, the community manager, Almir Listo, said it is impossible to do anything in the game unless you are online.
So there’s an “Always Online” requirement.
Here are the fateful seconds with the statement:
Why are people upset about this? Many want to be able to play Payday solo and complete missions offline. It was still possible to play completely offline in the popular Payday 2, even though there were some limitations, and the game was designed as a co-op title.
This is what the studio says: The community manager made it clear that while you can play solo, you cannot play offline:
You will be able to play it alone, but I think you will need a connection [to the internet] because the game was made with the Unreal Engine. It uses cross-progression, crossplay – yes, I think you will need to be connected to the internet.
