Payday franchise acquired by Starbreeze, confirms Payday 3

Payday developer Overkill Software made an offer that publisher 505 Games couldn’t refuse, and it bought its franchise back. Parent company Starbreeze confirmed repurchasing the franchise in the 100th balance update, along with a few other announcements that are sure to please fans.

First up, the developer confirmed the existence of Payday 3, although it was not able to speak anymore on the title. Please wait a bit longer for more information.

Perhaps bigger in more immediate news, though, the company backtracked on its controversial microtransaction system that caused the audience to erupt last fall. Microtransactions have been stripped entirely from the game, making DLC the only way to support the franchise outside of buying the main title.

We’re giving away a community grenade, the skills tree and we’re making the black market free for everyone going forward. We will continue to develop stuff for Payday 2 for another 18 months. We’re excited to continue working on the game until the end of 2017!

For selling the franchise, 505 Games is promised 33 percent of all revenue from Payday 3, capped at $40 million, allowing Starbreeze to recover its development and marketing cost.

Hopefully, the bad blood between fans and studios has gone out with the bathwater, and fans will return to the franchise. It would be a disservice to this hardworking studio and their quality games to not give them another chance now that it owns its own destiny.