When was the Payday 3 release date? It’s time to call up the gang and devise a dangerous plan to sneak into a New York skyscraper, rob everyone blind, and get out safely. As the name gives away, Payday 3 is a direct sequel to the critically acclaimed Payday 2.
Just like its predecessor, Payday 3 is a first-person shooter co-op game from Starbreeze Studios. The FPS game combines tight tactical teamplay with smooth gunplay and chucks in a massive heap of loot for good measure. Here’s an overview of the Payday 3 release date, gameplay features, storyline, and more.
What is the Payday 3 release date?
The Payday 3 release date was Friday, September 21, 2023, for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5. This was announced during the summer Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase.
Payday 3 was available as a PC Game Pass title from day one. While you don’t need the best PC, it’s wise to check the Payday 3 system requirements before purchasing the game.
Payday 3 technical open beta
Xbox and Steam players could try the Payday 3 technical open beta from September 8 to September 11. You didn’t need a key to access this open beta, and could download it straight from the Steam store page.
This open beta featured the original gang of characters, Dallas, Hoston, Chains, and Wolf. You had the opportunity to play on every difficulty level, and the level cap for Infamy was 22, whereas the Weapon Level Progression ended at level 8.
Payday 3 trailers
The first Payday 3 trailer gave us a good idea of what we should expect from the heist game. Starting with a heist job assignment, things quickly escalate into a full-blown shootout with characters vandalizing buildings, running from the police, and causing explosions.
While this confirms that an action-packed experience is certainly a possibility, Payday 3 is also very much focused on stealthy gameplay. The Payday 3 stealth trailer reveals shenanigans in buildings protected by red lasers, running across rooftops, taking down unsuspecting guards, and zip-lining to safety.
Dropping the stealth trailer itself was an impressive display of Starbreeze Studios’ sneakiness, as it took four days before the hidden trailer was finally noticed. Looks like we’ve got to step up our observation game if we want to survive the heist.
Payday 3 gameplay
At launch, the Payday 3 campaign consisted of eight heists, with more of them likely to be added in future expansions. Although this number is lower than Payday 2 which had twelve heists at launch, Payday 3’s heists are much more expansive.
As explained in the first Payday 3 developer diary, a heist typically goes through different phases. While starting out in stealth mode, cops may realize that something’s off and start searching for you. Once you’ve been discovered, instead of diving head-first into a shootout, you may use hostages to enter a negotiation phase. Yes, that’s right; Payday 3 allows you to grab a civilian and use them as a human shield, opening new ways to survive a heist gone wrong.
As for other ways to improve your heisting, you can choose from a large variety of character skills and weapons. The guns in Payday 3 are highly customizable, thanks to their different sights, magazines, and stocks. Beware that in order to unlock new mods, you need to gain experience with the gun in question. Alongside guns, you have a selection of gadgets to rely on, such as a mini-camera and an ECM Jammer to block cameras.
You’re going to have to work harder if you intend on getting one over the police. As the developers have promised, Payday 3 features far more intelligent AI units compared to the previous games. For example, SWAT teams will take cover behind their colleague’s shields and avoid harming civilians. Divided into three categories, you can expect the following opponents:
- Common enemies: SWAT and heavy SWAT units.
- Uncommon enemies: snipers and units carrying shields.
- Specials: the heavily armored Bulldozer, the grenade-throwing Nader, the stunning (literally) Zapper, and the ninja-like Cloaker.
Payday 3 tutorials
As it would be hard to understand every gameplay element right away, Payday 3 starts with four different tutorials: combat, crowd control, and two dedicated to the workings of stealth. The stealth tutorials will dive into “mask-on stealth” and “mask-off stealth” separately. Based on the previous games, mask-off stealth presumably means blending in with the civilians, while mask-on stealth refers to situations where you’ve been detected.
If the cops keep cutting your heists short, it’s possible to adjust the game’s difficulty level. There are four options: Normal, Hard, Very Hard, and Overkill. Rather than sporting a health bar, the Payday 3 difficulty levels affect the number of opponents and their accuracy.
As confirmed during a livestream with producer Almir Listo, Payday 3 will require an online connection. There’s no offline mode available, even if you plan on playing solo is still an option. If you do plan on playing with friends, Payday 3 supports crossplay between all platforms, which means that PC players can join their friends on the Xbox or PlayStation and vice versa. At launch, we saw many queries wondering if Payday 3 is down as the servers struggled to keep up.
Payday 3 story
As revealed in 2021, Payday 3 takes us to New York City where we reunite with the original cast of characters: Dallas, Hoxton, Chains, and Wolf. The old Payday gang has been upgraded with two brand-new members.
The Payday 3 story picks up a few years after the events of Payday 2. Having enjoyed a peaceful, robbery-free life for a while, the Payday gang may not be thrilled to return to their lives of crime, but it looks like they don’t have a choice.
And that’s all there is to know about the Payday 3 release date journey. If you’ve had your fill already, why not pick something to play from our list of the best crime games on PC? Or, if it’s the utter disregard for the law that speaks to you most, have a look at our selection of the best police games to enact your own flavor of justice.