Starbreeze has cancelled its Dungeons and Dragons project to focus on its flagship Payday franchise.
Codenamed Project Baxter, it was revealed back in 2023 and was aiming for a 2026 release. Few details were available, but it was planned to have “the signature Starbreeze game cornerstones of co-operative multiplayer, lifetime commitment through a Games as a Service-model, community engagement and a larger than life experience”.
However, following a “strategic review”, development has been discontinued as the board of directors and management have “concluded that resources are best deployed to accelerate the growth of” the Payday series.
As a result, the studio will incur a non-cash impairment of around SEK 255m (around £20m).
“This was a difficult but necessary decision,” said Adolf Kristjansson, CEO of Starbreeze, in a press release.
“Our strategy is clear: Payday is one of the most iconic IPs in gaming, with unmatched reach and potential. By focusing our investment and talent here, we can accelerate delivery, engage players with more content, and reinforce Starbreeze’s position as the clear leader in the heisting genre. This is about sharpening our focus to create the strongest long-term value for our players, our people, and our shareholders.”
The studio stated “part of the Baxter team will be redeployed across Starbreeze’s projects, most prominently within Payday” and where “internal opportunities are limited, Starbreeze will provide active support for affected employees to transition to new roles across the industry”. It estimates there will be a reduction in headcount of around 44 full-time employees and contractors.
Starbreeze boasted the Payday games have engaged over 50 million players globally, generating almost SEK 4bn in lifetime gross revenue.
“We are doubling down on what our players love – and what we do best – owning the heisting genre,” said Kristjansson. “Payday is more than a game – it’s a genre we created and continue to lead. By redeploying talent and capital, we can bring innovation to heisting gameplay faster, while also laying the foundation for the future expansion of the genre.”
Earlier this year, Starbreeze acquired the publishing rights to its Payday 3 game from Plaion, which launched disastrously in 2023. The acquisition would enable the studio to “significantly accelerate [its] content development roadmap, and pursue broader strategic opportunities for the Payday franchise as a whole,” said board member Thomas Lindgren at the time.
