Starbreeze Studios has had a turbulent time in the games industry. From the success of Payday 2 to being almost made bankrupt and losing the rights to Systemshock 3, the Swedish publishing house has had a rollercoaster experience when it comes to the games industry. Now that the company is finally getting back on its feet, it has expressed its desires to become industry leaders, with Payday 3 paving the way.
The Payday creators previously stepped back from anything ambitious, restructuring its priorities while narrowing its focus towards its best-selling game. Since then, Payday has become the largest game community on Steam, a feat that has fortified the companies confidence in branching out to new projects.
Commenting on the company’s last quarterly report, acting CEO Tobias Sjögren highlighted Starbreeze Studios’ financial progression [via WCCFTech]:
“Our PAYDAY franchise and ‘games as a service model’ really showed their muscles during the year with several successful releases of content for PAYDAY 2. By late December, PAYDAY 2 had become the biggest game community on Steam, with 7.1 million members. We have executed two capital raises during the year and paid off a large proportion of our debts, strengthened our financial position, and thus enabling the continued successful development of PAYDAY 3 in 2021 – all key steps in putting Starbreeze back on the map as an industry leader.”
Sjögren also stated that the company has come a long way since last year, expressing his confidence in the studio’s ability to grow within the industry:
“Starbreeze is a much stronger company today than it was one year ago. We are hugely confident, thirsting for revenge and thrilled to be able to focus to the max on developing our IP with PAYDAY front and center. With expanded development capacity and continued good demand for everything PAYDAY, we are in prime position for future growth. I am truly looking forward to continuing the work with Starbreeze and the opportunities that lie before us.”
It’s sounding hopeful for the next addition to the franchise, but at the time of writing, Payday 3 still needs a publisher. Unless one can be secured, we might never see the game come to light.
In a financial report, the studio heads issued the following warning: “Without additional financing, liquidity injections from divestitures or distribution agreements for Payday 3, the company could experience a liquidity shortfall in the fourth quarter of 2021.”
While Payday 3 isn’t set to release until at least 2022, it seems like Starbreeze has a battle plan. Armed with the Payday franchise, this Swedish studio could be a force to be reckoned with – that is, if Payday 3 can find a publisher.
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Featured Image Credit: Starbreeze Studios