The highly anticipated launch of Payday 3 last week turned out to be a major disappointment for both developers and players alike. The game’s persistent server issues have left many gamers frustrated, and the mandatory always-online requirement has even hindered those who prefer to enjoy the game solo. This unfortunate situation has resulted in a dismal “mostly negative” user rating on Steam, with nearly 68% of the nearly 25,000 user reviews giving the game a thumbs down.
Starbreeze, the game’s developer, has issued a statement addressing the ongoing problems. They revealed that Payday 3’s matchmaking software encountered an “unforeseen error,” rendering it incapable of handling the influx of players trying to access the game. To make matters worse, a new version of the matchmaking software, introduced over the weekend, initially seemed to improve the situation. However, a subsequent software update, carried out by a “third-party matchmaking partner” on Sunday, introduced new instability to the server infrastructure.
Tobias Sjögren, CEO of Starbreeze, expressed disappointment in the issues that players faced during the launch weekend. He reassured the community of the game’s core quality and stated, “We have a lot of diligent and consistent work ahead of us to regain community trust, but we will work hard to do it.”
One potential silver lining in this chaos is the possibility of Payday 3 finally incorporating a proper offline mode for singleplayer action. Starbreeze has announced its search for a new matchmaking services partner for the game and aims to reduce its dependence on online services.
In a recent Twitter post, Sjögren confirmed that the development team is actively exploring the option to introduce some form of offline mode.
Payday 3 joins a growing list of games highlighting the drawbacks of requiring a persistent online connection for singleplayer experiences. Industry giants like Microsoft recognized this issue a decade ago with the Xbox One, and Bethesda recently learned the lesson with Redfall. It’s not just a matter of principle; there can be severe practical consequences. While Starbreeze is expected to resolve these problems eventually, the prospect of an offline mode could be a welcome change for Payday 3 enthusiasts.
However, for the time being, players eager to dive into Payday 3 might continue to face a challenging journey. Our attempts to start a solo game resulted in multiple matchmaking errors, as illustrated below:
We’ve reached out to Starbreeze for more information regarding the game’s current status and the timeline for resolving these issues. We will update you as soon as we receive a response. Stay tuned for further developments.
