First Major Payday 3 Patch Delayed

I’m sitting on a review of Payday 3 right now, and the only reason I haven’t instantly written it up and gotten it out is this threat of a major update set to bring more than 200 quality-of-life changes to the heist-focused game. Logic indicates there is no great point in writing a review that could 24-48 hours later be so outdated that it no longer becomes useful, and you have to rewrite it. Well, the first major patch for Payday 3 was set to release either last week or this week, and not only has that come to pass, but so has a second delay.

According to PC Gamer, community manager Elisabeth Elvestad wrote on the game’s Discord, “We’re sorry for the lack of communication regarding the first patch. We have identified some issues that need to be fixed before we can bring it to you, but rest assured that this is the main priority for our teams.” Elvestad went on to say, “We’re spending additional time revamping our patching process to ensure that we can have a steady cadence and momentum with patches going forward. We are careful with giving you an ETA right now, as we want to make sure we can deliver before we do so. Please bear with us. The patch (and more news) are coming.”

One major issue plaguing Payday 3 since its release is the always-online focus that has forced solo and online players into queues. I might be from one of the damp lands known as the UK, but even I get fed up with queuing for a while. When you are playing solo, I simply don’t understand the point in this queuing business. Late last month, around the release of Payday 3, Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren actually said: “[the] team is looking at [the] possibility to add some sort of offline mode.”

The other major problem that some have with Payday 3 is something I mentioned earlier this week as I reviewed Hot Wheels Unleashed 2. Your progression is also tied to challenges instead of leveling up. Weapons themselves level up, but your progression is tied to an annoying progression system that is so poor a Reddit user had to produce a downloadable spreadsheet for everyone to use. Many of these challenges are actually quite difficult or nearly impossible for solo players too, as they focus on multiplayer with little wiggle room.

Hopefully Starbreeze and Deep Silver can turn this around, though it is difficult to say public opinion hasn’t already been soured by a launch that went so poorly. I also hope this patch can come sooner rather than later so I can clear this review off of my list and move on without waiting for another major patch.