Fresh in the wake of the announcement that Payday 2 would be rendered free of the microtransactions that led many to disregard the game, it has now come to light that the owners of Overkill, Starbreeze, have reacquired all rights to the Payday franchise, as well as the exciting implications that there is another Payday title in the works.
Returning the Payday franchise to its rightful owners wasn’t cheap, with Starbreeze paying in the region of $30 million in order to assure them ownership of the rights to any future developments in the franchise, whether that be further additional content for Payday 2, Payday for mobile platforms or a new game. Full revenue from Payday 2 will continue to be paid to the Swedish firm, which will be in effect retroactively from May 1st, 2016, while the console version of the game, Payday 2: Crimewave Edition will continue to split revenue between Starbreeze and previous owner 505 Games.
505 Games will also be able to secure a 33% revenue share from sales of the upcoming Payday 3, which will be paid after Starbreeze has recouped their development and marketing costs, with a cap of $40 million to be paid. Starbreeze believes this is a good investment in both the short and long term, with the $30 million upfront expected to be covered by franchise income prior to Payday 3’s eventual release.
“PAYDAY is very close to my heart, and has laid the foundation for Starbreeze success in recent years. We’re very excited to bring our heisters home to the safe house. To start with, we believe in the continued success of PAYDAY 2 and will support it for at least another 18 months continuing expanding the game,” said Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint.
It looks like Starbreeze and Overkill will be busy from here on out then, with a John Wick VR shooter and survival horror game, Overkill’s The Walking Dead both in development already, the latter looking to be set for a 2017 release date. We should be able to hear more on both of these games, as well as some tidbits for the future of the Payday franchise at the upcoming E3 2016 or the slightly more distant Gamescom.
