Starbreeze Studios, the developer behind the 12-year-old crime simulator Payday 2, recently faced widespread criticism after significantly raising the price of a DLC bundle by 44%, from $118 to $170. This substantial increase occurred shortly after the announcement of a new subscription service for the game. In a direct response to the community`s backlash, the company has since issued an apology, acknowledging their error and restoring the bundle to its original price.
Gustav Nisser, Starbreeze`s head of commercial, clarified in an interview with PC Gamer that the 44% price surge for the “Infamous Collection” was not intentionally linked to the introduction of the new $5/month Payday 2: Subscription service, which provides access to numerous DLC packs. While fans widely suspected the price adjustment was designed to steer players towards the new subscription, Nisser attributed the incident solely to unfortunate timing.
Nisser elaborated on the situation, stating, “Had we recognized that this change would occur so close to the subscription launch, we absolutely would not have proceeded with it.” He further confessed that the company regrettably failed to inform its community about the impending price alteration. “Essentially, we made mistakes in multiple areas, particularly concerning internal coordination and our communication with the community. The repercussions speak for themselves. The community clearly felt we were attempting to funnel people into the subscription, and I completely understand that perspective. For better or worse, that was genuinely not the case; it was simply a mishap.”
To make amends with its dedicated player base, Starbreeze has not only offered an apology but has also completely reversed its decision. The Infamous Collection has been reinstated to its initial price of $118, with an additional 31% discount now applied, bringing the bundle`s price down to $84.92 on Steam.
Nisser reiterated the company`s position: “The community has been very vocal about how this appeared alongside the subscription launch—and they are correct; the timing was terrible. We undoubtedly handled this improperly, and we will be apologizing to the community. We sincerely hope there will be some acceptance that this was an honest mistake.”
It is important to highlight that both the Infamous Collection and the recently launched subscription program are exclusively for Payday 2, and not for its sequel, Payday 3. This differentiation is primarily due to Payday 2`s significantly larger active player base. According to SteamDB data, Payday 3 rarely surpasses 1,000 concurrent players, whereas Payday 2 consistently attracts tens of thousands of players at any given time. Clearly, the original title maintains a far greater popularity.
The Infamous Collection, currently available solely for the PC version of the game, encompasses over 70 downloadable content items, including various cosmetics, weapons, and characters. Players are not obligated to purchase the entire bundle at $118 (or the discounted $84.92), as all individual packs are available for separate purchase and are also currently discounted on Steam.