When Starbreeze Entertainment embarked on the development of Payday 2, the Swedish studio never imagined for a moment that its heist game would last more than 10 years. And yet, it’s 2023, the game still attracts over 65,000 daily active players, has sold over 5.5 million copies in the past two years, and has even become the most played Steam game for 10 years. As much to tell you that such a success, it forges convictions and it actually pushes to produce a sequel. Only problem, when you have such an active community, that players have their habits, how to not break their toy? This is a question that the designers of the game quickly asked themselves when defining the guidelines for Payday 3, especially since technically Payday 3 was rebuilt from scratch, from scratch as we say in the jargon of the game. video. The difficulty for the Swedish studio is to reproduce the DNA, the identity of Payday, so as not to upset the habits of the players too much. There is a Payday 2 feeling, both in the tempo, in the feel of the weapons, but also in the way of moving. Going from an in-house engine to Unreal Engine 4, the risk was enormous, and the developers remember what happened with Counter Strike, when it went from version 1.6 to Source, radically changing the game. The players were not only disoriented, but quickly turned their backs on the game. This example, namely the failure of Valve, is considered by many to be a textbook case, something not to be reproduced above all. Another major element that Starbreeze identified very quickly is that it is better to move forward hand in hand with your audience, your fans and to please your community first, rather than wanting to revolutionize everything in an attempt to going to seduce another public, not necessarily loyal or faithful.
SEARCH & DESTROY
Aware of its strengths and weaknesses, Starbreeze also knows that the competition remains quite minor for the genre of game it covers. Of course, the other great game that offers co-op heists is neither more nor less than GTA Online, and more recently Crime Boss (whose feedback is quite disappointing), but it’s not the slip party, and Payday 3 can therefore continue to rely on its participatory community so as not to be misled. Despite this, with the production of a new canonical episode, it is obviously necessary to come up with new ideas, and new features, in order to justify the purchase of this new iteration. The first element that struck us quite a bit and which somewhat changes the situation is this notion of “mask off” which has gained in depth. From now on, it is possible to spend more time in civilian clothes, to take advantage of the places, to explore them before starting the robbery. However, to keep a certain balance, the designers have limited the actions of the players when they do not have the mask on their head. We can therefore observe around us and take notes on the location of such a camera or a security guard, but it is impossible to jump, climb a ladder or even go over a window. A voluntary limitation in the game design which aims to maintain this stress as soon as the mask is put on. But Andreas Hall-Penninger, lead producer on Payday 3, confirmed to us that it is quite possible to complete a heist while remaining peaceful, without ever killing anyone. To achieve this result, the challenge is extremely high and for sure will become an achievement goal among the players once the game is released.
NON-BINARY
In any case, Payday 3 will not betray the DNA of the first two episodes, and unsurprisingly, the robberies will be done in two different ways: in “Stealth” or “Loud” mode. And what’s good about this game is that we’re really out of harm’s way, even if the team is more united than ever. Nobody is safe from mishandling, from an unexpected situation, such as the fact that a grenade goes off inadvertently. Communication and mutual aid are obviously the two key elements to hope to emerge unscathed from the robbery, because the difficulty increases crescendo and the SWAT assault risks giving some sweats. But before we get to that, Payday 3 comes with features that allow heists to no longer be binary like before. Starbreeze Entertainment has therefore implemented what they call a “Search” mode in which security guards and other security agents are alert and begin to explore environments in case of suspicion. Better, if ever one of the robbers (in mask off mode) is caught searching in a room or a place prohibited to the public, he can be escorted to the exit, without triggering the general alert. It will then suffice to remain in the zone of movement imposed by the guard in question. The other members of the gang can then take advantage of this moment to search other rooms, recover documents and even steal badges hanging from an agent’s belt. There is a real added value in giving players more freedom before really moving on to steering with the gun out and the mask on the nose.
But that’s not all, there is also this notion of negotiation, a novelty of this Payday 3, which allows robbers to save time and exchange hostages to prevent the Police from opening fire as soon as they arrive. It is even advisable not to release everyone, because it is possible to trade to recover resources. We can also take a hostage as a human shield, again to save time, and prevent being turned on by the police, who will respect the presence of an innocent person on the front line. Payday 3 has also gained flexibility in its movements, with for example the possibility of dashing or sliding on the ground to take cover more quickly. These small changes are not much said like that on paper, but for Andreas Hall-Penninger (lead producer on Payday 3), it is more than enough not to go back. Suddenly, difficult for him to return to Payday 2 which is more rigid in its gameplay, once we have tasted its sequel. Among the life-changing additions in Payday 3 are also those props and other little gadgets that help you better understand situations. For example, you can stick cameras and get a preview on your smartphone. The environments are now more destructive, and clearly this aspect of Rainbow Six Siege brings considerably to the immersion and the different possibilities of play.
GANGS OF NEW YORK
As usual, it is the cooperation and the good understanding of the members of the gang that will allow the heist to be successful, and we also advise you to launch the game in “hard” difficulty mode so that the challenge is taken up and of size. This not only reinforces the stress of the steering conditions, but also identifies the strengths of each of the players in his team. Either way, Payday 3 was built on the many feedback from players throughout Payday 2’s existence. With over 80 DLCs released in 10 years (some free, some paid), Starbreeze knows full well what hypes or not his community. It is obviously still too early to know what will be at the launch of the game next September, but he did not prohibit finding the iconic maps of Payday 2, adapted to the gameplay of Payday 3, to please the fans. . Similarly, the business model remains to be defined, although we suspect that it will be similar to Payday 2, especially if Starbreeze does not want to upset the habits of players too much. The only thing we know at this stage is the integration of an in-game currency C-Stack which will allow access to various bonuses, mainly cosmetic, implying that there is no there will be no pay-to-win.
CONSOLES VERSIONS, A PRIORITY
The question of console versions has also been put on the table, and Starbreeze promises that the PS5 and Xbox Series versions will enjoy the same follow-up on PC gaming. The developers are indeed aware that they have neglected the console versions for Payday 2, but that the error will not happen again this time. Moreover, it has been specified that the game will ignore old gen consoles, in order to deliver the best possible experience. Finally, be aware that if the story of Payday has meaning for you, the emblematic characters of the game will indeed be back, that Payday 3 will take into account the events that occurred at the end of Payday 2 and that it is necessary to expect to see new faces arrive within the team. And if we left Washington DC for New York, it’s not only to renew the sets and the maps, but also because New York is the capital of the capitalists, and with the experience acquired, our gang cannot be satisfied with small neighborhood robberies, it is now necessary that each breakage makes the headlines.