Payday 3 developer Starbreeze considers offline mode amid server issues

Matchmaking errors have ruined Payday 3’s launch

Payday 3’s launch has been a disaster. Matchmaking issues plague the heist-shooter. For many these issues have simply made the game unplayable. While the game is focused on online co-op play, Payday 3 can be played in singleplayer, and even solo players are facing server issues. The prevalence of these issues may force Starbreeze to add an offline mode to Payday 3.

Payday 3’s matchmaking issues have seen the game’s review rating on Steam drop to “Mostly Negative”, with over 65% of Steam reviewers rating the game negatively. These ratings are unsurprising, as you can’t have a positive perception of a game that you can’t play.

Starbreeze, Payday 3’s developer, has now released a statement about their game’s server issues. The studio admits that they have encountered an “unforeseen error”, and that a “new version of the matchmaking server software was gradually deployed across all regions”. Below is Starbreeze’s full statement.

PAYDAY 3 matchmaking infrastructure has not performed as tested and expected. Matchmaking software encountered an unforeseen error, which made it unable to handle the massive influx of players. The issue caused an unrecoverable situation for Starbreeze’ third-party matchmaking partner.

A new version of the matchmaking server software was gradually deployed across all regions leading to improved performance. However, a software update made by the partner during late Sunday again introduced instability to the matchmaking infrastructure. The partner continues to work to improve and stabilize PAYDAY 3s online systems.

The issue in question did not manifest during Technical Betas or Early Access due to the specificity of rapid user influx and load-balancing. Starbreeze is currently evaluating all options, both short- and long-term. In the short-term, this means Starbreeze’ focus is to ensure the player experience. In the long-term, this means evaluating a new partner for matchmaking services and making PAYDAY 3 less dependent on online services.

“We are disappointed in the issues our playerbase has faced during our launch weekend, but we are confident in our core product and the quality of PAYDAY 3 – and all available metrics point to it. We have a lot of diligent and consistent work ahead of us to regain community trust, but we will work hard to do it.”, says Tobias Sjögren, CEO of Starbreeze Entertainment.

Current server status will continuously be communicated through our social channels here.

In their statement, Starbreeze has stated that they are considering both “short-term and long-term” options. These include finding a new partner for matchmaking services for Payday 3, and making the game “less dependent on online services”. Thise plans could result in the creation of an offline mode for Payday 3.

Payday 3 could get an offline mode

According to CEO Tobias Sjögren, Starbreeze are actively considering an offline mode for Payday 3. Currently, Payday 3 requires a connection to the internet to play. This could change with future game updates.

Recommendation; ”Game pass” is better than ”hard pass”… 😉

Jokes aside, been communicated by Andreas for example that team is looking at possibility to add some sort of offline mode.

— Tobias Sjögren (@tobiassjogren) September 24, 2023

Pre-launch, Starbreeze has responded positively to feedback for Payday 3. One example of this is the developer’s descision to remove Denuvo’s anti-temper technology from Payday 3 ahead of launch.

You can join the discussion on Payday 3’s potential offline mode on the OC3D Forums.