Starbreeze Studios, the developer behind Payday 3, is reportedly laying off multiple employees, though the company has yet to make an official statement. The news comes from current and former staff, including QA Alexander Pereswetoff-Morath, who shared on LinkedIn that “many” workers were being let go, and Senior Tech Producer Sabina af Jochnick, whose role was flagged as “at risk of redundancy.”
Since its 2023 release, Payday 3 has faced a turbulent reception. Critics offered mixed reviews, and the game continues to hold a middling score among players on Steam. Despite Starbreeze rolling out new content, including heists like Party Powder and Delivery Charge, as well as the Skill 2.0 update, the title has struggled to maintain a stable player base. Peak concurrent player counts have fallen dramatically, from nearly 78,000 at launch to just 686 in recent 24-hour windows on Steam. Even during new content releases, spikes rarely surpassed 3,000 concurrent players.
The layoffs follow a series of challenges for Starbreeze. Between 2024 and early 2025, around 15% of the company was already cut, with further reductions occurring after the cancellation of Project Baxter, a Starbreeze Dungeons & Dragons project. Financial reports from 2024 indicate the studio posted losses of $18.5 million USD. The acquisition of Payday 3 publishing rights in 2025 was intended to accelerate content development and expand the franchise, but these efforts have yet to translate into a revival of the player base.
Starbreeze’s difficulties are not unique in the gaming industry. In 2025 alone, major studios including Amazon Games, EA, Microsoft, Ubisoft, Niantic, and Square Enix also announced layoffs. As 2026 begins, similar developments are expected to continue across the sector.
While Starbreeze works to stabilize Payday 3 and develop future projects, the latest layoffs highlight the ongoing challenges the studio faces in regaining player trust and delivering commercially successful content.
