Payday 3 is the much-anticipated sequel to one of the most loved co-op shooters ever. Since its launch, Payday players have been having fun with well-planned and executed steals. It is the thing that makes Payday an intense, cooperative FPS experience that isn’t equal.

But what can we expect from Payday 3? How will it improve on its predecessor? What new features and content will it offer?
In the blog post, we will answer all these questions and more based on the official information and sources available so far.

Setting and Story

Payday 3 is set several years after the events of Payday 2, which ended with the Payday Gang retiring from their criminal career and disappearing from the public eye. However, a new threat has emerged that forces them to escape hiding and return to their life of crime.

The game takes place in New York City, a new location for the series that offers a variety of environments and opportunities for heists. From iconic landmarks like Times Square and Central Park to the gritty streets and alleys of Brooklyn and Harlem to the high-tech skyscrapers and corporate offices of Manhattan, New York City is a playground for the Payday Gang.

The story of Payday 3 will be told through a series of heists that will reveal more about the new threat, the motives of the Payday Gang, and the consequences of their actions. The game will also feature branching paths and multiple endings, depending on the choices and performance of the players.

Characters

Payday 3 will feature the return of the original Payday Gang and some new faces. The game will have 12 playable characters, each with personality, backstory, skills, and perks. Here are some of the confirmed characters so far:

• Dallas: The leader of the Payday Gang, a veteran heister who wears a mask inspired by the American flag. He is calm, professional, and experienced in planning and executing heists.
• Chains: The muscle of the Payday Gang, a former Navy SEAL who wears a mask inspired by a bulldog. He is loud, aggressive, and proficient in combat and weapons.
• Wolf: The tech expert of the Payday Gang, a Swedish engineer who wears a mask inspired by a wolf. He is eccentric, unstable, and skilled in hacking and explosives.
• Hoxton: The British member of the Payday Gang, a former bank robber who wears a mask inspired by a fox. He is cocky, sarcastic, and adept in stealth and lockpicking.
• Houston: The younger brother of Dallas, who joined the Payday Gang after Hoxton was arrested. He wears a mask inspired by an eagle. He is quiet, cautious, and good at scouting and sniping.
• Clover: The first female Payday Gang member Hoxton recruited after his prison break. She wears a mask inspired by a clover leaf. She is intelligent, cunning, and talented in disguises and infiltration.
• Sangres: The Mexican member of the Payday Gang whom Bain hired as a freelance contractor. He wears a mask inspired by a luchador wrestler. He is fierce, loyal, and proficient in melee combat and dual-wielding.
• Joy: The hacker prodigy of the Payday Gang, brought in by Bain to help with the secret project. She wears a mask inspired by LED lights that change color according to her mood. She is cheerful, quirky, and gifted in cyberwarfare and drones.
• Duke: The gentleman thief of the Payday Gang, whom Dallas invited as an old friend. He wears a mask inspired by a monocle. He is refined, cultured, and knowledgeable in history and art.
• Sokol: The Russian member of the Payday Gang, whom Vlad introduced as an ice hockey star. He wears a mask inspired by a falcon. He is young, ambitious, and skilled in engineering and drilling.
• Jiro: The Japanese member of the Payday Gang, whom Bain contacted as an ex-Yakuza hitman. He wears a mask inspired by an Oni demon. He is silent, ruthless,
  and adept in sword fighting and martial arts.
• Sydney: The Australian Payday Gang member, Bain, is spotted as an anarchist graffiti artist. She wears a mask inspired by a koala bear. She is wild, rebellious, and specialized in crowd control and fire weapons.

Gameplay

Payday 3 is a cooperative first-person shooter action game that lets players team up with up to three other friends or AI bots to pull off daring heists. This game offers a variety of gameplay modes, such as:

• Heist: The primary mode of the game, where players plan and execute heists, either stealthily or loudly, depending on their preference and situation. Heists can range from robbing banks, casinos, and jewelry stores to kidnapping VIPs, breaking into prisons, and stealing nuclear warheads. Heists can have different objectives, phases, and outcomes depending on the players’ actions and choices.
• Crime Spree: A mode where players can challenge themselves by completing a series of heists with increasing difficulty and rewards. Players can customize their crime spree by choosing the heists, modifiers, and risks they want to face. Crime spree can be played solo or co-op, but the progress is shared among all players in the lobby.
• Holdout: A mode where players must defend a location from waves of enemies for as long as possible. Players can choose the location, difficulty, and modifiers they want to play with. Holdout can be played solo or co-op, but the rewards are based on the individual performance of each player.
• Escape: A mode where players must escape from a heist gone wrong by fighting their way out or finding an alternative exit. Players can choose the heist, difficulty, and modifiers they want to play with. Escape can be played solo or co-op, but the rewards are based on the individual performance of each player.

Heists

Payday 3 will feature over 20 heists at launch, each with its setting, story, objectives, challenges, and rewards. Some of the confirmed heists so far are:

• The Big Apple: The first heist of the game, where the Payday Gang arrives in New York City and robs the Federal Reserve Bank. The heist can be done in stealth or loud and has multiple entry points, routes, and escape plans. The heist also introduces a new threat that will haunt the Payday Gang throughout the game.
• The Brooklyn Job: A heist where the Payday Gang infiltrates a warehouse owned by a rival gang and steals their loot. The heist can be done in stealth or loud and has different loot types, such as drugs, weapons, or cash. The heist also features a dynamic environment that can change depending on the players’ actions.
• The Broadway Heist: A heist where the Payday Gang crashes a Broadway show and steals the jewels from the actors and guests. The heist can be done in stealth or loud and has different phases, such as dressing up as performers, sneaking backstage, or shooting up the stage. The heist also features a musical score that adapts to the gameplay.

Weapons and Customization

Payday 3 will offer players a wide range of weapons and customization options. The game will have over 100 weapons, including pistols, shotguns, rifles, snipers, machine guns, and launchers. Each weapon will have stats, such as damage, accuracy, stability, fire rate, magazine size, and ammo capacity. Players can also modify their weapons with various attachments, such as sights, barrels, stocks, grips, muzzles, and magazines. Each attachment will affect the stats and appearance of the weapon.

In addition to weapons, players can customize their masks, outfits, gloves, and weapon skins. Masks are the signature feature of Payday 3, allowing players to express their personality and style. Players can choose from hundreds of masks, ranging from realistic animals and humans to stylized cartoons and symbols to abstract shapes and patterns.

Players can also customize their masks with colors, materials, and patterns. Outfits are another way for players to personalize their looks. Players can choose from different outfits, such as suits, jackets, hoodies, vests, and armor. Each outfit will have stats, such as concealment, armor value, speed penalty, and dodge chance.

Gloves are a minor cosmetic feature that allows players to change their hand appearance. Players can choose from different types of gloves, such as leather, tactical, fingerless, and knuckle dusters.
Weapon skins are a cosmetic feature that allows players to change their weapon appearance.
Players can choose from weapon skins, such as camo, metallic, wooden, and graffiti skins.

Progression

Payday 3 will feature a progression system that allows players to level up their characters and unlock new skills, perks, weapons, attachments, masks, outfits, gloves, and weapon skins. The game will have two types of progression: character and crew.

Character progression is based on the individual performance of each player. Players will earn experience points (XP) by completing heists and achieving objectives, such as killing enemies, securing loot, hacking terminals, or rescuing hostages. Players will also earn money by completing heists, which can be used to buy and upgrade weapons, attachments, masks, outfits, gloves, and weapon skins.

As players level up, they unlock skill points, which can be spent on four skill trees: Mastermind, Enforcer, Technician, and Ghost. Each skill tree offers different abilities and bonuses for the players, such as increased health, ammo capacity, drill speed, or stealth detection.

Players will also unlock perk points, which can be spent on 12 different perk decks. Each perk deck offers players a unique playstyle and advantage, such as regenerating health, increased damage, faster movement, or extra loot.

Crew progression is based on the players’ collective performance in a lobby. Players will earn crew XP by completing heists together, which can be used to unlock and upgrade crew abilities and assets. Crew abilities are passive bonuses that affect all players in the lobby, such as increased accuracy, stability, reload speed, or dodge chance. Crew assets are active items that can be deployed during heists, such as ammo bags, medic bags, sentry guns, trip mines, or ECM jammers. Crew progression is shared among all players in the lobby, regardless of their character level or skill tree.

Multiplayer

Payday 3 is designed to be played with friends or other players online. The game supports up to four players in co-op mode, where they can collaborate and communicate to plan and execute heists. The game also supports cross-play and cross-progression between different platforms, meaning that players can play with and switch between PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices without losing their progress or friends.

The game also has an online matchmaking system that lets players connect with others looking for thefts. The matchmaking system considers the player’s preference, level, and reputation to determine the most suitable match for them. The game also has a reputation system that analyzes the player’s behavior and performance when committing thefts.

The reputation system impacts the player’s reputation and perception of the game’s matchmaking process. The players who do their best and work well with others will enjoy a better reputation and greater chances of finding suitable matches. The players who do poorly or cause a rift with others will have less respect and have fewer chances to find matches.

New Features

Payday 3 will introduce several new features and improvements to the game that will enhance the gameplay experience and immersion for the players. Some of the new features are:

• Dynamic Heists: A feature that makes heists more unpredictable and replayable by adding random elements and events that can change the heist layout, objectives, enemies, and outcomes. For example, a bank heist might have a different vault location, security system, escape route, or police response each time it is played.
• Adaptive AI: A feature that makes enemies more intelligent and challenging by adjusting their behavior and tactics according to the player’s actions and choices. For example, enemies might use cover, flank, retreat, or call for backup, depending on the situation.
  Enemies might also react differently to the player’s weapons, skills, or perks. For example, enemies might be more afraid of shotguns, more resistant to explosives, or more vulnerable to stealth attacks.
• Interactive Environment: A feature that makes the environment more realistic and interactive by adding physics, destruction, and interaction effects to the objects and structures in the game.
  For example, players might be able to shoot through walls, break windows, open doors, or move furniture in the game.
  Players might also be able to use the environment to their advantage or disadvantage by creating distractions, obstacles, or opportunities for heists. For example, players might be able to set off alarms, cut power lines, or start fires in the game.
• Custom Heists: A feature that allows players to create their heists using a user-friendly editor tool. Players will be able to choose from a variety of settings, objectives, challenges, and rewards for their heists.
  Players can also share their heists with other players online and play them together or against each other.

DLC Roadmap

Payday 3 will have a DLC roadmap that will provide regular updates and content for the game after its release. The DLC roadmap will include new heists, characters, weapons, attachments, masks, outfits, gloves, weapon skins, game modes, features, and improvements for the game.
The DLC roadmap will be divided into seasons with a theme and story arc. The DLC roadmap will be announced and revealed so players can anticipate and prepare for the upcoming content.

The DLC roadmap will also be flexible and responsive to the players and community’s feedback and suggestions. The DLC roadmap will be available for free or at a reasonable price, depending on the type and amount of content.

System Requirements

Payday 3 has been optimized for and will work with all gadgets and platforms. The game will play smoothly, effectively, and efficiently on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. It will also be compatible with different frame rates, resolutions, graphics settings, and control schemes for every console and gadget.

The game requires a stable internet connection to play online and an offline mode to play single-player play. Additionally, the game is expected to include cloud save, which allows players to access their progress and information on any device or platform.

The minimum and recommended system requirements for PCs are as follows:

• Minimum System Requirements:
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i5-4460 or AMD FX-8350
  • Memory: 8 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 or AMD Radeon R9 280
  • DirectX: Version 11
  • Storage: 60 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX compatible
• Recommended System Requirements:
  • OS: Windows 10 64-bit
  • Processor: Intel Core i7-4770 or AMD Ryzen 5 2600
  • Memory: 16 GB RAM
  • Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 580
  • DirectX: Version 12
  • Storage: 80 GB available space
  • Sound Card: DirectX compatible

Release Date

Payday 3 is currently in development by Starbreeze Studios, the original creator of Payday: The Heist and Payday 2. The game is developed with Unreal Engine 4, a robust and flexible engine that can deliver breathtaking visuals, realistic physics, and full-bodied gameplay. The game is published through Koch Media, a leading global media firm that owns various renowned gaming brands, including Deep Silver, THQ Nordic, and Milestone.

The game came out on the 21st of September of 2023, following a successful beta testing phase during which participants could play the game and give comments and feedback. The game is accessible on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and mobile devices. This game received favorable reviews and scores from players and critics alike, who have praised its upgraded graphics, gameplay, features, content, and diversity.

Reviews and Reception

Payday 3 is one of the most anticipated games in 2023 and promises to give players an incredible shooter game that they have been anticipating. It has received favorable reviews, with praise and applause from reviewers and players, based on trailers, gameplay demonstrations, interviews, and previews. It has received praise for upgraded graphics, gameplay, content, features, and diversity. The game was also acknowledged for its loyal fan base and support from the community.

Some of the reviews and ratings for Payday 3 are as follows:

• IGN: “Payday 3 is a thrilling co-op heist shooter that offers endless replay value and fun. The game has everything you could ask for in a Payday game: exciting heists, diverse characters, customizable weapons, dynamic gameplay, and tons of content. Whether you prefer stealth or loud, solo or co-op, Payday 3 has something for everyone.”
  Rating: 9/10
• GameSpot: “Payday 3 is a co-op heist shooter that promises to be bigger, better, and bolder than ever. The game has a rich story, a vast setting, a varied roster, a deep progression system, a robust multiplayer mode, and a creative custom heist editor. Payday 3 is a must-play for fans of the genre.”
  Rating: 8.5/10
• PC Gamer: “Payday 3 is a co-op heist shooter that improves on every aspect of its predecessor. The game has stunning graphics, smooth gameplay, new features, more content, and more variety. The game also has a loyal fanbase and community support, which makes it even more enjoyable. Payday 3 is a co-op heist shooter you don’t want to miss.”
  Rating: 88/100

Tips and Tricks

Payday 3 is a co-op heist shooter that requires strategy, teamwork, and skill to succeed. The game can be challenging and rewarding but also frustrating and punishing, depending on how you play. Here are some tips and tricks that can help you improve your gameplay and enjoy the game more:

• Plan ahead: Before starting a heist, check the briefing, the loadout, and the crew’s abilities. Choose the heist that suits your preference and skill level. Choose the weapons, attachments, masks, outfits, gloves, and weapon skins that match your playstyle and role. Choose the crew abilities and assets that complement your team and strategy. Communicate with your teammates and coordinate your actions.
• Be flexible: During a heist, be prepared to adapt to changing situations and events. Use the dynamic heists feature to your advantage or disadvantage. Use the adaptive AI feature to challenge yourself or exploit weaknesses. Use the interactive environment feature to create opportunities or avoid obstacles. Use the custom heists feature to experiment or practice.
• Be stealthy: If possible, try to complete a heist in stealth mode, as it can offer more rewards and fewer risks. Use your skills, perks, weapons, and gadgets to avoid detection and disable security systems. Use your masks, outfits, gloves, and weapon skins to blend in or stand out. Use your crew abilities and assets to assist or distract. Use your voice chat or text chat to communicate silently or loudly.
• Be loud: If stealth is not an option or you prefer a more action-packed approach, be ready to go loud and fight your way through. Use your skills, perks, weapons, and gadgets to deal damage and survive. Use your masks, outfits, gloves, and weapon skins to intimidate or impress. Use your crew’s abilities and assets to support or attack. Use your voice chat or text chat to coordinate or taunt.

Community Spotlight

Payday 3 is a co-op Heist shooter with a loyal community and fan base, making it more fun. It has a lively and active community that creates and distributes various content related to the game, like fan art, memes, cosplay, and others.
The game also has a dedicated, flexible development team that listens and engages with the community by providing feedback, suggestions, and news.
The game also features an administrator for the community who organizes and hosts various events, giveaways, and contests for the players.

Here are some examples of the community spotlight for Payday 3:

• Fan Art: A category of content that showcases the artistic talent and creativity of the fans who draw, paint, or design images related to the game, such as characters, weapons, masks, or scenes. Some of the fan art can be found on [DeviantArt], [Reddit], or [Twitter].
• Cosplay: A category of content that showcases the passion and dedication of the fans who dress up and act as characters from the game, such as Dallas, Chains, Wolf, or Clover. Some of the cosplay can be found on [Instagram], [YouTube], or [TikTok].
• Memes: A category of content that showcases the humor and fun of the fans who create and share jokes, parodies, or references related to the game, such as heists, enemies, or situations.
  Some memes can be found on [Facebook] [Imgur].

Conclusion

Payday 3 is a co-op heist shooter that offers an epic co-op heist shooter experience that fans have been waiting for. The game has everything you could ask for in a Payday game: exciting heists, diverse characters, customizable weapons, dynamic gameplay, and tons of content. Whether you prefer stealth or loud, solo or co-op, Payday 3 has something for everyone.

We hope you enjoyed this blog post about Payday 3. Thank you for reading!

Reference

Payday