The Payday 3 release date is official, as the long-awaited third installment of the Payday series has a confirmed launch date, along with a gameplay trailer that shows off upgrades to movement, guns, and more. Announced during today’s Xbox Games Showcase, Payday 3 has a Sept 21 release date, bringing the smooth shooter in line with Redfall and the next Destiny Day.
Payday 3 starring Hoxton, Dallas, Chains, and Wolf is coming in a couple of months, and from the looks of its latest gameplay trailer, the long-running co-op shooter is finding its feet. We’ve already seen some of these heists orchestrate in the multiplayer game, which has kept a healthy player base for years thanks to its consistent support for Payday 2, which Starbreeze produced dozens of DLC packs for over a decade.
Payday 3 Steam page describes the long-awaited sequel as taking the heisting crew “back to the streets,” as they’re “pulled from their peaceful retirement to rejoin the criminal world they left behind. A world that changed without them. A world that needs them more than ever.” In layman’s terms, Payday 3 wants you to believe the best of the game’s lengthy support for paid-for DLC packs and cosmetics has contributed to a fallen criminal world in need of Hoxton and co.
There’s a whole lot to unpack from Payday 3’s trailer. Running and gunning from a ladder through a pair of double doors, Hoxton drops briefcases full of money while Dallas cops a glistening suit. We get a glimpse of movement improvements slid across the floor and vaulting up onto a guard’s shoulders, the previously announced ability to hold ’em as a shield, and the return of the bulldozer. We’ll take it.
Perhaps most importantly, Payday 3 seems to be making the wise decision of not changing very much at all. Starbreeze, who produced dozens of DLC packs for Payday 2 over a 10-year period, wants longtime players to be satisfied with the new and improved version of Payday 2. With a fresh bank to heist, routes to master, a fresh arsenal of guns, and lots of cosmetics to unlock, long-running fans should get their money’s worth.
Though Starbreeze is leaving the future for Payday 3 in the co-op game’s hands, with promises that future expansions and Battle passes will flesh out the sequel, it also wants you to know it won’t turn into a bleaker Battlefield or Warface. A spokesperson for the studio confirmed to us “no loot boxes,” and though no further expansions were confirmed, the spokesperson did state it has plans for the game “over the years.”
You’ll be able to show up to weeks-long Payday heists equipped with an AK and riot shield, while depositing held guards outside to buy your crew a few extra seconds. Payday 3 looks like it’s making the wise decision to not change very much at all, and that seems like a good thing as Redfall and Overwatch 2 both struggle to find their footing.
The next big co-op shooter is on its way, and Payday 3 should mark the arrival of an exciting new loot game, as Redfall was a mess, and Overwatch 2 looks like it’s making some questionable changes to its co-op. Perhaps it’s time for valve to step aside and let the genre kings reclaim their throne – if so, then console players will get to experience the slickness of Payday 3 long before PC support arrives.