Payday 3 is launching this September, 10 years after its predecessor. Fans of the series are excited about it, but there is some cause for frustration over certain design choices. Critical among them is the revelation that the game will be always online, even when playing the single-player mode.
Speaking during a live stream, brand director Almir Listo says, “You will be able to play by yourself, but I do believe you will have to have a connection in order to play.” They say this is “because it’s made in Unreal Engine and cross-progression and cross-play, I do believe we need you to be online.”
While all of the Payday games put the emphasis on online cooperative play, both of the previous games allowed for offline modes where NPCs would aid the player during their heists, but always online play is becoming increasingly common as of late. Most notably Redfall launched with a much-maligned online requirement that was all too eager to kick single players out of the game if their connection dropped for even a second.
The immediate community reaction has been largely negative – as it usually is for features like this – but it’s unlikely that developer Starbreeze will change its mind any time soon. However, if the game sustains a decent-sized player base like Payday 2 has for many years, it’s possible an offline option will eventually be added.
Written by Ryan Woodrow on behalf of GLHF.
