Swedish developer and published, Starbreeze, makes significant change as it removes CEO Tobias Sjögren from the leadership role. This comes following previous reporting to investors by the company that Payday 3 is not performing as well as expected.
This follows a slew of issues for the heist shooter which has included a lack of content, server issues, movement difficulties and mediocre AI.
Sjögren will be replaced in the interim by current board member Juergen Goeldner, who has been a board member since last year. Starbreeze commented:
"The company has a clear strategy centered around creating attractive games on our own and licensed IPs. The board's consolidated assessment is that the execution of strategy needs a different leadership. Juergen Goeldner has been part of the board since 2023 and, with over 40 years of industry experience, is a strong interim solution," says Torgny Hellström, Chairman of Starbreeze.
"On behalf of the board of directors, I would like to thank Tobias Sjögren for his achievements during the past three years. Tobias took over the helm of Starbreeze in a challenging phase of its journey and we wish him well in his future endeavors," Torgny Hellström continues.
"Starbreeze has a strong history of developing and publishing games globally. After launching Payday 3, the company is well-positioned to leverage the strengths of the organization to monetize and develop the IP portfolio. I am looking forward to assuming an operative position and, together with the management, ensure the execution of this strategy," says Juergen Goeldner, interim CEO of Starbreeze.
So, is the future looking bright for Payday 3 (and Starbreeze)? It’s hard to say, and time will tell, but with the way the game industry is, there’ll be something new and shiny just around the corner to tempt players away (and we only have so much time in a day). Helldivers 2 certainly is doing the numbers in that department.
It’s not all doom and gloom though. Before being removed as CEO, Sjögren had written to investors to tell them that Starbreeze had assembled “a strike team of veteran developers” to help work on the game. Starbreeze’s position certainly seems to be strong too. They report to be cash positive and with no debt, meaning that they can give the time and dedication without having the fiscal sword of Damocles hanging over them (I’m sure that’s not the case for lots of devs).
With Payday, and the announcement late last year they will be working on a Dungeons and Dragons licence for their next game, we shall have to see if they’ve done the appropriate planning and made the right choices to pull this off.
Are you soldiering on with Payday 3? Is it better than it was? Let us know your thoughts about the state of the game in the comments below.
