Payday 2

GTA 5 may be the don of organized crime titles, but until the game's servers go live on October 1st, Payday 2 remains the biggest stick-up artist in town. Released back in August of this year, the one-time Left 4 Dead alumni is now blazing a trail of its very own, raking in more ill gotten cash than the casts of Heat & Point Break combined.

The first-person co-op heist title has now sold in excess of one-and-a-half million copies, with a whopping 80% of sales arriving via digital download. What does that mean for the future of the series?

Speaking to RockPaperShotgun on Friday — the very same day as the game's latest payoff became public - Payday director David Goldfarb explained to readers where he sees the thieving series heading next. Despite being caught up in the mire of post-release patching, Goldfarb had plenty to say about a potential Payday 3. Described as a "dark fantasy" series — in that players are encouraged to live out an exciting scenario from the villainous point of view, the heist honcho argued that the series still had some way to go to fulfill Overkill's twisted dreams.

"We’d have loved to have had more missions and big stuff. […] There are things I’d like to improve with stealth and some of the skills, things we can do in the course of the next year, some of those things are for like Payday 3. And if you want to go way way out, there’s lots of stuff you can talk about. Do we wanna add vehicles? Those sorts of things. But they’re like way far away."

Payday: The Heist Release Date

Goldfarb also went on to address two of the series' major player-led requests - the aforementioned lack of vehicle sequences & playable police officers. The former feature, despite being teased in pre-game lobbies, was never likely to make the cut in Payday 2, argues the director, given the small size of the team at Overkill, and the pressures of release bearing down upon them. The latter, mechanic was also jettisoned early on, in order to improve core mechanics and playability.

Both elements could factor into an eventual Payday 3 title, though Goldfarb remains less-than-hopeful over a fully-fledged editor making the cut. Despite close ties to Valve, a company well known for its expansive creation suites, Goldfarb believes modifying its propriety game engine to encompass such a feature would prove difficult. A smaller 'workshop' mode is somewhat more likely, with the Overkill lead admitting that custom mask creation and trading networks could be next for the burgeoning criminal enterprise.

In other Payday news, Overkill has unleashed an all-new content patch for the title, with changes made to everything from enemy A.I, to the 'crime.net' rewards system. For the full list of changes, check out the list below.

  • Teammate A.I is improved. 'Allies' are now more prone to double-cross, receiving a significant health boost to help them turn traitor
  • Overkill difficulty is toughed up
  • SWAT team flashbang grenades are now much more effective
  • Single-player balance tweaked and improved
  • Enemy animations are now smoother
  • Heist.net has been retooled to tempt players into engaging one another. Main mission priorities now pay less, with secondary (read — personal) objectives now earning much more. Overkill's hope is that players will become less inclined to work together for the entirety of a mission
  • Players no longer need to decide between money and XP rewards - a tertiary option now allows for simultaneous, albeit comparatively poorer gains in both areas
  • The crime.net interface has been streamlined, with the reintroduction of a greater range of viewing filters
  • TAB overlay menu now displays the value of both mandatory and additional loot bags
  • 'Aced combat medic' perk receives a 25/40% boost to effectiveness
  • Civilians are no longer affected by ECM feedback, while cops are more vulnerable to it
  • New 'Inside Man' perk — 'Expect Driver' aces the getaway every time
  • Tier 6 sentry guns now more effective
  • Loot drop now includes 'XP cards' to quicker levelling
  • Cash cards are now worth more
  • The Deagle receives a new reload animation
  • The 'Professional sight' texture glitch is now fixed
  • IZHMA 12G Shotgun is more effective
  • M308 Rifle has been tweaked
  • Kobus 90 Submachinegun is now much more dangerous with addition of the 'long barrel mod'

* The patch appears to be PC-only at present.

What are your impressions of Payday 2? Will the release of GTA Online steal the heist title's thunder? What new elements would you like to see introduced in a potential Payday 3? Have your say in the comments below.

Payday 2 is out for PC, PlayStation 3 & Xbox 360.

Follow Sam on Twitter @GamingGoo.

Sources: RPSEurogamerPCGamesN