The September overhaul for Payday 3, due Tuesday, September 22, is being billed by Starbreeze as a make-or-break reboot for the cooperative shooter. Arriving as the game marks its third anniversary, the update aims to address persistent problems dating back to Payday 3’s troubled launch — an event that prompted many players to return to Payday 2 or move on to other titles. Starbreeze says the patch will include sweeping gameplay and content changes intended to win back the audience.
At the top of the announcement: every heist that was previously sold as DLC will be added to the base game at no extra charge. The studio also pledged that future paid heist content of this kind will be free, and players who already purchased those expansions will receive exclusive rewards.
Story and mission structure
Starbreeze is also reworking the story campaign from the ground up. The studio acknowledged that the original narrative did not land as intended and that continued additions had led the team into a dead end. To make the plot and character roles clearer — in particular the role of Shade — existing missions will be reorganized into a new, logical sequence that creates a coherent progression and sets up future developments.
Practice and sound
A new shooting range will let players instantly change target distances and test any weapon, including ones not yet unlocked. The range will include an option to display damage values so users can study spread, critical hits, and lethality for each gun. An overhaul of the sound engine will make gunfire clearer and “juicier,” helping players identify who is shooting and roughly where shots are coming from.
AI, specials, and enemy tactics
Game designer Liza Kolpacheva outlined planned changes to enemy behavior, saying that enemy attacks had previously felt like a chaotic swarm. The revamped system is intended to make shootouts more readable and tactical — for example, players should be able to discern which flank law enforcement is advancing from and better coordinate defensive positioning with teammates.
Special enemy types have been altered to ensure they stand out. Kolpacheva said the team “removed everything that prevented them from standing out.” Examples given include removing pistols from “Zappers,” who previously fired those more often than using their taser, and reworking “Grenadiers” so they still carry submachine guns but now throw grenades much more actively and can run quickly rather than approaching slowly and clumsily.
Player equipment and weapon systems
The update limits throwable equipment to prevent mission-breaking grenades spread across buildings. Fragmentation grenades have been removed from the auxiliary equipment category and replaced by flashbangs; a dedicated skill tree for flashbangs will be added. Weapon classes will gain a new perk system: each class will have three to five unique passive skills, some active only when a weapon is in hand and others providing bonuses merely while the weapon is equipped in a loadout. Developers highlighted perks such as the “Vampire” perk for submachine guns (heals based on damage dealt) and “Pulled Pin” (allows a player to remove the pin from a grenade held by an enemy acting as a “human shield” before pushing them into a crowd). Named weapons will receive exclusive perks not available on standard variants.
Other changes include an updated emotion wheel with new animations.
New content: Crimebond — Brute Force
The update will also introduce a new battle pass (Crimebond) titled Brute Force. Rewards include the legendary portable saw OVE9050 with multiple blade types for sawing safes or dealing with enemies, the Locomotive 12G shotgun (a secondary-slot weapon with just three shells but high impact), the Insurgent submachine gun, and an “Anarchist” outfit featuring a red shirt and leather jacket.
Release and stakes
Starbreeze will publish the large-scale update on Tuesday, September 22. The studio frames the patch as a radical shake-up and, perhaps, the best opportunity to regain the players lost after Payday 3’s launch.