Payday 3 Player Count Gets Boost

Highlights

Payday 3 is seeing a massive boost in players following a recent content update.
Additionally, the 2024 Steam Summer Sale is inspiring new players to try the game, with Payday 3 currently costing $19.99.
Following the Boys in Blue update on June 27, Payday 3 jumped from 400 concurrent players to over 3,000.

Payday 3 is seeing a boost in popularity across the board, with the game reaching more players than at any time over the last six months. This increase could be attributed to a variety of factors, such as the latest content update for Payday 3, as well as the ongoing Steam Summer Sale.

While offering more complex stealth mechanics, better graphics, and new locations to loot and rob, Payday 3 initially fell flat for many, with the game suffering an incredibly poor release last year. Originally launching in 2011, the Payday series has continued to be one of the more unique franchises within the FPS genre. Instead of pitting players against each other, Payday encourages teamwork and communication, tasking players with planning and executing heists. Payday 3 is the most recent entry in the franchise, introducing several new mechanics, locations, and features into the mix. First impressions are everything, but after Payday 3 lost a large chunk of its player base after launch, the game is now suddenly seeing a big boost in players.

Why Payday 3 Players Are Flocking Back to Payday 2 Again

Payday 3 is having some trouble retaining its playerbase after an especially messy launch, with many returning back to Payday 2.

According to PCGamesN, Payday 3 is enjoying a big boost in popularity, likely due to the game’s latest update. Payday 3‘s The Boys in Blue update rolled out on June 27, 2024, promising to be one of the most important updates made to the game yet. This update adds a new heist for players to experience, as well as several new items and features, like a highly requested solo mode. After the update, current player counts rose from 400 to 3,000, a massive increase. This is far from the first post-launch support Payday 3 has seen, but The Boys in Blue addresses and improves upon several issues for fans of the game.

Payday 3 Bounces Back After Disappointing Launch

Payday 3‘s boost in popularity can also likely be attributed to the ongoing 2024 Steam Summer Sale. This annual sale is one of the most highly anticipated events for PC gamers, with Steam slashing prices on hundreds of titles, ranging from AAA franchises to smaller indie games. Payday 3 was dropped to its lowest price ever of $19.99 during the sale, a discount of 50 percent.

Faced with a plethora of server issues, Payday 3 was practically unplayable for many players on release. However, despite its rough launch, which Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren apologized for, developers have promised to make Payday 3 worth players’ time and money. With the addition of new quality-of-life features like Payday 3‘s new solo mode, the game is now in a much healthier spot than it was on release day. More heists are expected to be added to the game at a later date, with developers also teasing the implementation of several legacy heists from past games into Payday 3.