TL;DR: Payday 3 had a rough start with lots of issues, causing players to give it a “Mostly Negative” rating on Steam; the CEO of Starbreeze, Tobias Sjögren, apologized for these problems and hinted at a possible offline mode to address server troubles, but no timeline is available yet.
Payday 3 didn’t have a smooth start last week. The newest game in the heist series ran into lots of problems right after it came out, making many players worried. Even more, it got a “Mostly Negative” rating on Steam because of all the server issues. Since Payday 3 doesn’t have an offline mode, lots of players have been saying, “Payday 3 is not fun.” But are these complaints valid? Let’s find out.
The CEO of Starbreeze, the company that makes Payday 3, stepped in to talk to the players. Tobias Sjögren went on the internet to address their concerns. He didn’t dodge their criticism and took time to say sorry and suggest possible fixes.
Many Payday players like to tackle the game’s challenges by themselves. But with the “always online” setup in Payday 3, even solo players have to connect to the internet to play. This leads to problems with servers and lag, which can stop people from playing. Long waits, failed matchmaking, and game crashes have been part of the Payday 3 experience for everyone.
Sjögren said, “We are so sorry that the infrastructure didn’t hold up as expected, and although it’s impossible to prepare for every scenario – we should be able to do better. We work tirelessly until we have restored all services and our players can get back to heisting again without issues!”
But many players don’t understand why Payday 3 has to be “always online.” Solo players and multiplayer groups all need server space, causing problems for everyone. As one player, Donkey King, put it, “As soon as I saw it was always online it went from a buy to a hard pass. I wish you the best of luck on the game but who didn’t see this coming.”
As soon as I saw it was always online it went from a buy to a hard pass. I wish you the best of luck on the game but who didn't see this coming.
— The Donkey King (@DonkeyWolfgang) September 24, 2023
In response, Sjögren hinted at something exciting for all Payday 3 fans. He said, “[…] been communicated by Andreas for example that team is looking at possibility to add some sort of offline mode.”
Totally get it. I am cool about it, we will be around with PAYDAY 3 for many years to come so you’ll have the opportunity to join in when it feels right for you if you like.
— Tobias Sjögren (@tobiassjogren) September 24, 2023
An offline mode could make a big difference for everyone who wants to play Payday 3. It would let both solo players and multiplayer fans enjoy the game and hopefully reduce the strain on the servers. If this happens, along with fixes for server problems, Payday 3 could become more stable and enjoyable for everyone.
Right now, we only have this hint about an offline mode, and there’s no clear timeline. We hope that an offline mode will arrive sooner rather than later, but without more details, we’ll have to wait and see.
