Happy New Year Heisters!
We hope you’re having a joyous holiday season! Whether you’re spending it with family or friends, or taking some well-deserved time for yourself, we sincerely hope you’re enjoying a great end to the year.
With 2025 coming to a close, it’s time to look back at what happened during the year. It’s definitely been busy and often challenging, but also one of the most important years in our studio’s history, as we made the foundational decision to align our focus on PAYDAY.
Below are highlights from the past year, covering the development team’s work on PAYDAY 3, our PAYDAY 2 partnership, and the mini-games and interactive experiences released by our creative team this year.
Kicking off 2025
January was all about the release of the chicken-masked character Jacket, a violent maniac originating from Miami which was first released in PAYDAY 2 and came to PAYDAY 3 this year.
This was teased in the third episode of The Dragan Files, the ARG where we provide sneak peeks into upcoming characters and content in PAYDAY 3.
During our campaign for Jacket, we also released the free Browser Mini-Game Don’t Be A Hero, a 2D homage to Hotline Miami where you play a bank employee, rescue your colleagues and escape during a bank robbery by the PAYDAY gang!
In February, we released the Beginner’s Guide to Crime, a walkthrough designed to help new players in PAYDAY 3 to tackle their first heists. While a few systems have since changed, much of the guide remains relevant.
Another PAYDAY mini-game by our creative team followed in April with our own take on the clicker genre, Drill Simulator!, sponsored by our favorite news anchor, Robert Banks.
Summer 2025
Summer was a busy period packed with PAYDAY 3 additions, including the Party Powder heist, the Justicar secondary weapon, Armor 2.0, and OVERKILL drone deliveries.
In Party Powder, the Gang helps Shayu reclaim Golden Dagger property from an active crime scene crawling with crooked cops on the Palatucci Family’s payroll. The heist leaned heavily into PAYDAY’s sandbox philosophy. While the main objective of stealing drugs stayed the same, players were given multiple ways to approach and complete the job. It was also updated with the gameplay feature OVERKILL drone deliveries.
The Justicar was released as a deadly hybrid between a shotgun and a handgun, and quickly became a favorite among long-time PAYDAY fans. It is a powerful sidearm that performs well in both stealth and loud gameplay.
Armor 2.0 delivered a major overhaul to one of the game’s most requested features. Players can now tailor their defenses to their playstyle by choosing between three armor types and four armor frames.
In June, we also released the free update Smash & Grab aimed at helping new PAYDAY 3 players better understand the core structure of heists: basic infiltration, loot gathering, and escapes. Players can enjoy simpler heists such as Bank Withdrawal and Search and Seizure in this update. It also introduced the Spearfish 1895, a weapon that stands out both visually and in terms of effectiveness.
Autumn / Winter 2025
We kicked off the autumn with the Delivery Charge heist. After the Palatuccis declared a vendetta against the PAYDAY Gang, the clowns struck back by targeting a GenSec transport depot owned by the infamous crime family. Delivery Charge became particularly renowned for its stealth gameplay, with excellent favors that significantly altered the flow and objectives.
October brought a big surprise for our fans: PAYDAY 2 started receiving updates again. While much of our focus this year was on bringing content to PAYDAY 3, we didn’t want to leave our PAYDAY 2 players behind. To make this happen, we partnered with Sidetrack Games, a studio formed by all-stars from the PAYDAY 2 modding community, to deliver much-needed updates and ensure the game remains relevant for years to come.
In December, we launched Skills 2.0 in PAYDAY 3, our biggest update of the year. Many community members had been eagerly awaiting this feature. While there’s still more work to be done, it represents a clear improvement for PAYDAY 3, with even more enhancements already planned for 2026.
As we prepare for a new and even better year for PAYDAY fans, we’re more committed than ever to listening to your insights. That’s why we launched the PAYDAY Insiders program in November, allowing us to work even closer with the community.
This is a fresh chapter. A New Criminal Dawn: Electric Buggaloo, as some might say. We’re determined to bring you more ways to play and have fun in our games, while expanding the PAYDAY universe.
Happy New Year, heisters. We’ll see you in the next one.
