Payday 2 Drops Microtransactions, Payday 3 Confirmed
Bank to basics
Last year, Overkill Games upset a pretty vocal corner of their Payday 2 [official site] community by introducing microtransactions to the co-op heist 'em up - something they'd previously promised to avoid. In an announcement made yesterday, Starbreeze - Overkill's parent company - revealed they've now acquired full rights to the Payday franchise and as such will scrap paid-for in-game items via the next update. Oh, and Payday 3's been confirmed.
A third series entry was probably inevitable, however the announcement also noted that Starbreeze will continue to support Payday 2 for at least the next 18 months. Exactly what that'll entail remains to be seen, however the following trailer drops some heavy hints around the 3.45 mark:
Overkill are "freeing up the black market", then, so says producer Almir Listo. Here's what to expect for those of you who prefer the written word:
"Starting with the next update in Payday 2, any old-generation safes in the loot drop will stop to drop. Any new-generation safe, going forward, will drop completely for free. You will still be able to trade all the old and new generation safes and items using the Steam Marketplace. Your prices, supply and demand, will still continue to shape the Payday 2 marketplace.
"Any new generation safes that drop will be dropping completely for free, and will continue to have different rarities and qualities, depending on what kind of items you get. The only difference is, now you open them for free.
"As Chains so eloquently put it: 'Fuck that broke-dick piece of shit drill'."
As for Payday 3, we've nothing to go beyond the fact that it's A Thing for now. More on what's next for number 2, however, will be revealed at E3 next month.