Payday 2 Devs Try to Milk a 12-Year-Old Game, Get Absolutely Wrecked by Players
"I bet this one wasn't on your 2025 bingo card," Starbreeze said when announcing a new subscription for a 12-year-old game. They were right, but probably not for the reasons they were hoping for.
Starbreeze, the developer of the ancient but beloved co-op shooter Payday 2, is currently doing some world-class damage control after pulling one of the most brazenly anti-consumer moves I’ve seen in a while. The studio tried to quietly jack up the price of its massive DLC bundle by about €50, only to immediately turn around and announce a shiny new DLC subscription service as a "cost effective alternative".
The community, predictably, lost its collective mind and promptly set the game's Steam reviews on fire.
The Heist That Backfired
Players immediately saw the move for what it was: a scummy attempt to manipulate them into a recurring payment for a game that was released during the Obama administration. The timing was especially insulting, given the widespread feeling that the studio has all but abandoned its failed sequel, Payday 3.
"Adding a subscription to try milk a 12 year old game and upping the price of the dlc bundle because you refuse to put any money or effort into the sequel is downright shameful," reads one of the top negative reviews on Steam. Another user put it more bluntly: "They keep coming back to beat this dead horse into hamburger".
Dropping the Ball, Then Picking Up Some of It
To their credit, Starbreeze realized they'd kicked a hornet's nest. In a statement to Game Developer, the company's head of commercial, Gustav Nisser, admitted they "dropped the ball".
"The negative reaction makes complete sense," Nisser said. "We agree with the community, we messed up on this one, and we have reverted the price on the bundle effective immediately." The Infamous Collection bundle, which includes a staggering 75 pieces of DLC, is now back to its original €85 price tag.
But the Subscription Stays
Here's the kicker, though. Despite the apology and the price reversal, the €5-a-month subscription service is still going ahead. It's a classic case of corporate damage control. They've walked back the most blatant part of the scheme - the secret price hike, but are still pushing the recurring revenue model they wanted all along.
It's a bold strategy for a 12-year-old game with a failed sequel haunting its every move. Starbreeze got caught with their hand in the cookie jar, apologized for the mess they made, but are still walking away with a cookie. Let's see how that pays off for them.