The dusty hardcore shooter Payday is still immensely popular today. At gamescom 2022, MeinMMO editor Benedict Grothaus was able to exchange a few words with the creator and spoke with him about his new game.
In Payday, you play as bank robbers who must successfully complete a heist with all the hurdles that would also arise in real life: alarm systems, secured safes, and police. The series is considered an absolute hardcore game as every mistake is harshly punished.
On Steam, Payday 2 is still one of the most popular games with over 38,000 players on average (via steamcharts). Some time ago, the creators founded a new studio: 10 Chambers, with which they developed the hardcore shooter GTFO.
At gamescom, I spoke with the CEO of 10 Chambers, Ulf Andersson. He founded the studio that developed Payday: The Heist and Payday 2 and also worked as a developer on the game. He is now planning a new title.
Check out our highlights from gamescom 2022 here:
The new game will not be “Payday in Space”
This is the new game: The boss didn’t reveal too much about the new game. Many details are hidden between the lines, and we talked more about the game than he actually answered my questions. However, I could at least squeeze some information out of him regarding the gameplay and setting:
- the new game will be a heist game like Payday or GTFO
- you will play in a cyberpunk-like technothriller setting, likely similar to Cyberpunk 2077 or Shadowrun
- there will be no aliens, the foundation is rather realistic
- GTFO has been a major inspiration for some of the features
- it will not be “Payday in Space”
The main focus of the game, according to Andersson, is on the multiplayer aspect. They want to create a good cooperative game in which you achieve something together. At the same time, they want to break the fixation on 4 players as a squad:
In our other games […] we always had a 4-player coop. This one is smoother, not just balanced for 4 players. We are trying to find more interesting setups for how the game can be played […] Maybe I want to play with 3 other people on Friday, and then alone or with strangers on Monday or something.
From the conversation, I could roughly gather that something like dynamic difficulty might be planned. At least it sounded as if groups of between 1 and 4 players would be possible – but no guarantee that this is true.
Andersson roughly compared the new game to Destiny and its vaults and raids, but without further context. PvP is not a topic for now. They want to make the best possible cooperative game and focus on that.
GTFO is a significant inspiration for the new game from 10 Chambers. Here is the trailer for the hardcore shooter:
How “hard” will it be? Anyone who knows Payday and GTFO knows how punishing the games can be. One mistake, and the police or aliens overwhelm you, and the mission fails. There are few to no checkpoints. Ammo is limited, health points can hardly be replenished, and you can’t take much damage either. A real hardcore experience.
The new title wants to tone things down a bit. Andersson explains to me during the conversation that you can’t appeal to many players at the same time and remain absolutely hardcore. Nevertheless, it remains a heist game with “other features” that would fit. What those are, he did not reveal.
However, Andersson noted that the entry barrier could be lowered if necessary. The new game ultimately relies on many players and a cooperative experience, and too much hardcore would limit the player base too much.
“We promise that we won’t promise anything”
When and where will the game be released? Regarding the release and platforms, neither Ulf Andersson nor Communications Director Robin Björkell could tell me anything. They do not want to raise expectations that they might not be able to meet.
Regarding the consoles, Andersson explained to me that the porting and especially updates come with some problems. They want to reach as many players as possible. The answer to the question of a release for Xbox and PlayStation can be found between the lines here.
As soon as they can, they will reveal more about the new game. GTFO will remain as it is for now, and they want to continue supporting the game as the hardcore shooter that it is. GTFO is by the way one of our recommendations for adult entertainment:
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