Payday 3 is in production, but could be a long way off

Payday 3, the next entry in Overkill Software’s series of first-person heist shooters, is in development — and the process will take as long as necessary, parent company Starbreeze Studios announced today in its year-end financial report.

“It is with great satisfaction that we also can announce that Payday 3 production is officially initiated and at a full design stage,” said Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint.

Starbreeze did not offer a release window for the game, and that’s with good reason: The team behind Payday 3 will be able to take its time. Klint explained why:

I’d like to especially clarify, that this project will enjoy as much time as we deem needed. It will be done when it’s done. This is our single most important brand today and the cornerstone of our business and we will treat it accordingly. Updates in the near future might be [scarce] and far between. You simply don’t rush Payday 3.

That might be disappointing to Payday fans, because it’s already been a long time since the release of Payday 2. That sequel debuted three and a half years ago — all the way back in August 2013. However, Overkill has kept the game fresh with a steady flow of free and paid downloadable content since then: nearly 40 add-ons in all, with the most recent one, a John Wick: Chapter 2 tie-in, coming last week.

Overkill launched the Payday series with Payday: The Heist in October 2011 — the year before Starbreeze acquired the studio — so less than two years elapsed between the game and its sequel. We’ve reached out to Starbreeze for more details on Payday 3, and to ask what the beginning of development on the game means for Payday 2’s future DLC plans. We’ll update this article with any information we receive.

Update (Feb. 17): A spokesperson for Starbreeze told Polygon that Payday 2 “will continue to have support within the foreseeable future.”