It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the launch window of Payday 3 has been a worst-case scenario for developers Starbreeze Entertainment. The situation went from bad to dismal this evening; its latest patch is now delayed to “mid-October”.
Breaking the news via social media, the stress that the under-fire team is suffering from is evident. “Heisters. We’re extremely sorry for this, but we’ve chosen to delay today’s patch to ensure its stability,” the statement read. “The patch needs some changes that would require us to go through console certification again. We hope to be ready to deliver this one for mid-October.”
The sour cherry to cap everything off? All PlayStation 5 bonus content will remain unredeemable until that point.
As one would expect, early reactions have skewed mostly towards the negative. “They were so unclear about what would be happening leading up to today,” a Reddit user complained. “I get things happen, but the lack of communication is entirely their fault.” This is a completely reasonable take as, despite the many fires they are currently trying to extinguish, the responsibility still lies with Starbreeze to own the situation. Communication is of more importance now than had the game’s launch gone smoothly.
PlayStation users must be feeling particularly aggrieved since they have paid for content that has yet to be delivered. Not to mention, Payday 2’s console editions remain infamous for their numerous issues compounded by then-independent series creators Overkill Software dropping consistent support in December 2019.
Some are choosing to view this latest setback more optimistically. “I’d rather have a working patch than rushed out mess,” a Twitter user said. “Transparency goes a long way!” Very reasonable points, well made. Although not the ideal course of action, everyone will be complaining a lot less if this patch fixes as many issues as players demand.
Others were quick to support Starbreeze in improving key areas of hurt with haste. “Credit where credit is due, the matchmaking is so much better than at launch,” another Twitter user said. “Testing a release properly takes time.” Unfortunately, time is against those in control of this game’s ultimate fate. Sitting at a ‘Mostly Negative’ rating on Steam, many prospective players will be convinced to spend their hard-earned cash elsewhere.
All things considered, it’s disappointing to see an inherently fun franchise such as Payday suffering so badly. Let’s hope that Starbreeze can get their community back on side sooner rather than later.
