| Payday: The Heist | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Developer(s) | Overkill Software |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Online Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Ulf Andersson |
| Composer(s) | Simon Viklund |
| Engine | Diesel |
| Platform(s) | |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | First-person shooter[3] |
| Mode(s) | |
Payday: The Heist is acooperativefirst-person shooter game developed byOverkill Software and published bySony Online Entertainment. The game was released for thePlayStation 3 in North America on 18 October 2011, and in Europe on 2 November.[4] It was released then forWindows on 20 October.
Payday: The Heist runs on theDiesel game engine. The game contains seven different missions (including the free No Mercydownloadable content (DLC) released on 25 July 2012), with each mission containing random elements which alter the gameplay in subtle ways with the aim of enhancing replayability. The Wolf Pack DLC was released on PlayStation 3 and PC in August 2012. This DLC added two heists, (in total making the mission amount nine) additional weapons, increased level cap, and a player upgrade tree.
InPayday: The Heist, players use a variety of firearms to complete objectives (usually centered around stealing a certain object, person, or a particular amount of money). The game plays from the first person perspective, but offers a few twists on the standard FPS formula. Killing civilians is punished, instead players may take a limited number as hostages. Should any player get taken into custody (after taking enough damage and not being "revived" in time, or getting downed too many times) during the heist, one of their teammates may release a hostage, allowing a trade to take place which allows a single player to be released. While playing the levels, players will notice a lot of variation in a single level, as there are often a large number of random events programmed in. An example of this is the location of the bank manager in First World Bank.
The game focuses on four robbers (Dallas, Hoxton, Chains, and Wolf) who team up. Their first heist took place at the First World Bank, where they entered a vault by usingthermite hidden on the inside of a photocopier and stole a large amount of money. A post-game message congratulates the group, telling them that they are "set for life", but recommends more heists, including robbing drug junkies in an abandoned apartment complex and ambushing a prisoner transport in heavy rain weather, stealing blood samples from an infected patient, intercepting a gold convoy in a slaughterhouse, chasing a traitor, simply for the enjoyment of the players.
There are 9 heists in Payday: The Heist.
Overkill Software released two DLC packs for the game; the first one is the Wolfpack DLC, which was released on 1 August on the European PlayStation Store and on 7 August for the North American PlayStation Store and PC. The new content included a new Technician skill tree that gave players access to theAK, theGL40 and theStryk pistol as well as adding in a deployable sentry gun. Also included were two new heists, Counterfeit and Undercover. On 25 July, the No Mercy Hospital DLC was released, establishing a link between theLeft 4 Dead andPayday series (although this has been stated to be non-canon).[4][5] This DLC included the No Mercy heist as well as the Infected mask set for players withLeft 4 Dead installed on their computers.Payday: The Heist was free on Steam for 24 hours in October 2014.
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| Metacritic | (PS3) 70/100[6] (PC) 76/100[7] |
| Publication | Score |
|---|---|
| Computer Games Magazine | 5/10[13] |
| Destructoid | 7.5/10[10] |
| Eurogamer | 8/10[12] |
| GameSpot | 7.5/10[9] |
| GamesRadar+ |   [11] |
| Giant Bomb | [14] |
| IGN | 7.5/10[8] |
Payday: The Heist received "mixed or average" reviews from critics for the PS3 version, while the PC version received "generally favorable" reviews, according toreview aggregator websiteMetacritic.[15]
By October 2012,Payday: The Heist had sold over 700,000 units.[16][17] Also, by November 2014,Payday: The Heist andPayday 2 had sold over 9 million units.[18]
A sequel, titledPayday 2 was released forPlayStation 3,Windows, andXbox 360 in August 2013.[19][20] In the following years, the Payday: The Heist maps have been added to Payday 2.[21]
AfterStarbreeze Studios acquired Overkill Software,Payday 3 was planned. Following Starbreeze's restructuring plan due to financial difficulties in 2018, Starbreeze stated that they planned to releasePayday 3 by 2023.[22][23][24] The game was released forPlayStation 5,Windows, andXbox Series X/S in September 2023.[citation needed]
