A new challenge for the Payday franchise

Swedish game developer Starbreeze is expanding its representative IP ‘Payday’ to the VR platform. The company is developing 'Payday Aces High' in cooperation with Fast Travel Games, a VR developer, and plans to release it on Meta Quest and SteamVR this year.

Matt Dixon, Starbreeze's chief growth officer, said in an interview with a related foreign media outlet, "It is a privilege to have an IP as beloved as Payday," and added, "We want to introduce more games within the Payday universe."

Meeting of two Stockholm studios

This collaboration began with the geographical advantage that both companies are headquartered in Stockholm. “The conversation happened naturally over lunch while we were discussing plans to expand our payday IP and open it up to external partners,” Dixon explained. Fast Travel Games is a studio recognized for its expertise with VR titles such as ‘Vampire: The Masquerade – Justice’ and ‘Apex Construct’.

Erik Odeldahl, Chief Creative Officer of Fast Travel Games, said, "From the beginning, we decided to tell a unique story with a new group of heisters as the main characters. Although it has the same worldview as the main game, it was important to secure creative freedom."

Gameplay redesign tailored for VR

The process of moving existing flat screen games to VR required significant adjustments. Oderdahl said, “We reworked the Quiet Mode stealth section to fit VR immersive play.” We also prioritized a strong progression system, allowing players to experiment with loadouts for each heist. It is a method of unlocking new abilities, gadgets, and guns with in-game currency, and VR-specific interactions are implemented for all items to provide an intuitive and natural feeling of operation.

“What we’ve learned from past VR experiences is that the game needs to feel truly different from the flat screen version and be designed for total immersion,” Dixon said. “It’s not just about the technology, it’s about the feel of the 3D space and designing a loop that fits the play style of the device.”

Starbreeze’s VR history and payday status

Starbreeze is not its first attempt at VR. In the past, it produced the VR version of 'Payday 2' and 'John Wick Chronicles' in 2017, and at one time collaborated with Acer to develop its own VR headset called 'Project StarVR'.

The Payday franchise currently has more than 50 million players worldwide and has recorded cumulative sales of $400 million (approximately KRW 540 billion). 'Payday 2', released in 2013, sold more than 40 million copies and was a successful title that helped the company survive the dark times. 'Payday 3', released in 2023, performed below expectations, but its performance has now stabilized. As of Starbreeze's 2025 fiscal year, 'Payday 3' generated sales of approximately $8.19 million, and 'Payday 2' generated approximately $5.37 million.

The company canceled 'Project Baxter', a service game based on 'Dungeons & Dragons' that was under development last year, and chose a strategy to focus more on payday.