It seems that troubles at Payday 3 developer Starbreeze have not abated, as multiple employees have reported on LinkedIn that the company has imposed another round of layoffs. The cuts come just three months after a previous round of layoffs, and the transfer of Payday 2 to another developer so Starbreeze can focus its efforts on saving Payday 3.
"Today, many of us at Starbreeze, Stockholm, got sad news and I’m now seeking a new role and would appreciate your support," QA analyst Alexander Pereswetoff-Morath wrote (via Insider Gaming). "After over 7 years, the longest I've ever been at any company in any industry, my time has (more than likely) come."
The "more than likely" comment in Pereswetoff-Morath's statement arises from the specifics of the layoff process: Employees have been notified that they are "at risk of redundancy," effectively a legally-mandated heads up that their role is likely to be eliminated.
Community manager Haua M. Yusuf briefly explained how that effectively functions as a layoff notice in her own message. "I was informed yesterday that my role at Starbreeze Entertainment is at risk of redundancy," Yusuf wrote. "This doesn't mean it's set in stone, but as you can understand, it makes the future very uncertain so I'm on the look for my next adventure."
Senior tech producer Sabina af Jochnick reflected the same thing in a separate post: "Due to the recent layoffs at Starbreeze, my role has been identified as at risk of redundancy, so I'm beginning to look at what's next."
Starbreeze has not yet commented on the layoffs and the number of employees impacted isn't known, but at least seven other Starbreeze employees have also posted risk-of-redundancy messages on their accounts.
Whatever the number, the layoffs reflect ongoing troubles at Starbreeze, which has struggled badly with Payday 3 since it launched in 2023. A catastrophic launch set an ugly tone that Starbreeze has not been able to correct, and the concurrent player count on Steam rarely surpasses 1,000.
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Ironically, the 13-year-old Payday 2, the game Payday 3 was meant to supplant, is continuing to purr along.
(Image credit: SteamDB)
I've reached out to Starbreeze for comment on the layoffs and will update if I receive a reply.
Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.
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