The launch of co-op heist shooter game Payday 3 has encountered several problems, leading to the game’s developers, Starbreeze, issuing an apology for a lack of communication and explanation for the delay in Payday 3’s first patch. Despite the fall in number of players, Starbreeze wants to assure the gamers that its main priority is to resolve the initial patch issues and to introduce a regular patch update schedule in the future.

The developers have identified a critical error related to player progression being wiped, which has significantly delayed the first patch. While first patch is currently being tested in cooperation with Sony and Microsoft to maintain parity between platforms, Starbreeze acknowledged the need to improve Payday 3’s progression system and to offer infamy points for each heist to balance the challenge system. The game developers further announced their plans to deliver regular content updates, with free content expected before the end of the year.

Payday 3 has experienced server issues since its launch, causing Starbreeze CEO, Tobias Sjögren, to apologise for the infrastructure that "didn't hold up as expected". The patch promised to rectify these issues has been delayed for over a month. Player numbers have dropped significantly, with the game failing to make the top 100 popular games list on Steam. Starbreeze blamed a third-party matchmaking partner for the server issues at launch and announced plans to create an offline mode for the game, marking a significant change, as Payday 3 currently requires a constant online connection.