Talking Next-Gen PAYDAY

With OVERKILL

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In case you have missed it PAYDAY 2: Crimewave Edition has been announced for the Xbox One and PS4, you can read all about that here. We here at Mouse ‘n’ Joypad have had the pleasure of speaking with Almir Listo, a PAYDAY 2 producer on the subject of the upcoming current-gen release of the game on consoles! We were lucky enough to find out some juicy details about Overkill’s plans as far as the console version of PAYDAY 2 is concerned, as well as a couple of things about the game’s future features. Be sure to read it all down below.

What exactly are your plans for the current-gen console version of PAYDAY 2? While the game has a pretty substantial following on Steam, the servers are nigh-deserted on the last-gen consoles. How will you intrigue those gamers? With PAYDAY 2: Crimewave Edition, we’ve made big improvements to the game that the last generation console players haven’t seen yet. Over a year of post release content is added for day one of the release. Post release, our ambition is to continue supporting the game with more content. There will be technical upgrades like improved framerate, 1080p resolution and better looking textures. What will be the main differences between the last and current-gen PAYDAY 2, and how will it compare to the PC version?

The differences will be as few as possible. However, it’s never possible to reach exact parity with twocompletely different systems. Our aim is to give both the Xbox One heisters as well as the PlayStation 4 heisters the best heisting experience they possibly can get.

Are we to expect any “meta” updates that will be available both on current-gen consoles and the PC, or will the PC-version remain the same as it is right now?

The PC game will remain the same as it is and all three platforms (Xbox One, PC and PlayStation 4) will be updated in their own pace. Of course, our goal is always to cram in as much content as possible as soon as possible.

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It’s safe to say that PAYDAY 2 isn’t going anywhere for the time being, with the recently added characters (one of whom is Croatian – that’s brilliant), heists and arsenal expansions. How much longer will you guys be supporting the game with updates and additional content?

I know! Balkans get too little love in games today so we had to do our part! We’ve told our community that as long as they continue playing, we will continue updating the game until 2016 at least. After that – who knows.

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Also, is safehouse customization ever going to be implemented or is it just a wild goose chase for us gamers?

We are going to implement it. We’ve been designing it for a long time, trying to find out how to best include it in the game to make it a meaningful experience. Who knew making games was this hard?

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Will some DLC be bundled with the game for console gamers, and are we to expect some exclusive stuff?

Hell yes, over a year’s worth of post launch content is added to the PAYDAY 2: Crimewave edition. There will be some really hot exclusive masks only attainable on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One respectively via the Hard Time Loot Bag.

Now, the last-gen console version of PAYDAY 2 is basically left to its own devices, sitting at the Armored Transport update as far as I can tell, while the PC version got over fifty-two updates up until now. Can you tell us what happened with that iteration [last-gen console] of the game and perhaps reassure those who will invest in your upcoming current-gen PAYDAY 2 release? We are retiring the PAYDAY 2 update development on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. We understand that heisters that play PAYDAY 2 on Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3 have been looking forward to new updates. We wish we could provide more updates. For a long time, we’ve been looking at how we could add more updates. We are confident that we have done everything we could cramming as much content we possibly could on both of the platforms. Some of these consoles are almost a decade old. They don’t have the fire power to deal with all the additional content that we have been developing for the past year. For us as developers, of course it’s frustrating, but you have to move on. I know it’s a longshot – but do you have any comment on whether PAYDAY 2 will or will not support cross-platform play?

Hey, it’s a good question, but cross-platform play is not a priority of ours. Our community has never asked for it as far as I know, and we’re happy focusing on making sure it’s the best co-op heist experience ever instead!

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Finally, is there anything else you’d like to share / tell us?

YES! PAYDAY 2: Crimewave Edition is coming out in June and is going to have a 25% discount during the whole pre-order period! That means you should get it while it’s hot! Thanks for the interview and keep those helmets flying!

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We would like to thank the guys at OVERKILL for taking the time to answer our questions, especiallyAlmir as they must be extremely busy right now. So there you have it folks PAYDAY 2: Crimewave Edition coming to Xbox One and PS4 in June. Now watch the trailer and be happy.

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