A surprising twist has emerged in the latest financial update from Starbreeze Studios. According to the company’s year-end Q4 2025 report, Payday 2 generated nearly double the quarterly revenue of Payday 3—despite being 13 years older.
The numbers show a clear message: players are still choosing the classic over the sequel.
Payday 2 Beats Payday 3 in Q4 2025 Revenue
Starbreeze revealed that during Q4 2025:
- Payday 2 earned SEK 14.8 million ($1.6 million)
- Payday 3 earned SEK 8 million ($880,000)
That means Payday 2 brought in almost twice the revenue of its successor in the final quarter of the year.
Even more notable, Payday 2’s revenue increased year-over-year, while Payday 3 saw a decline compared to the same period last year .
Full-Year Sales Tell a Different Story
For the full year of 2025:
- Payday 3 generated SEK 76.5 million
- Payday 2 generated SEK 50.1 million
While Payday 3 still leads in total annual revenue, it has clearly lost momentum since launch .
At release in 2023, Payday 3 showed strong numbers. But player activity dropped sharply within months. Meanwhile, Payday 2 continues to pull consistent engagement more than a decade after release.
Why Players Keep Returning to Payday 2
Several factors explain this shift:
Rocky Launch for Payday 3
Payday 3 launched with major issues. It required an always-online connection—even for single-player. At launch, players could not pause during solo sessions. These design decisions frustrated the community.
Steam Player Counts Favor Payday 2
Recent data shows Payday 2 still attracts tens of thousands of concurrent players daily. By contrast, Payday 3 struggles to reach comparable numbers.
Established Content Ecosystem
Payday 2 benefits from years of updates, DLC, and a stable player base. It offers depth that many players feel Payday 3 still lacks.
Starbreeze Outlines Long-Term Plan to Fix Payday 3
Starbreeze Studios says it is taking a longer-term approach to improving Payday 3 after a difficult launch period. CEO Adolf Kristjansson confirmed that the studio has now established a stable monthly update cadence, calling it a key milestone in moving toward a more consistent live-service model. Recent updates include the Skills 2.0 overhaul and new heists aimed at addressing long-standing player feedback and rebuilding trust.
At the same time, Starbreeze has partnered with an external development team to continue supporting Payday 2 on PC. This shift allows internal teams to focus entirely on improving Payday 3, while ensuring the older title continues to receive quality-of-life updates and patches.
Despite these efforts, Starbreeze’s financial report shows that annual net losses increased in 2025, even as total revenue rose year over year.
For now, the numbers remain clear: the 13-year-old Payday 2 continues to outperform its modern sequel in player loyalty and steady revenue. Starbreeze says 2026 will focus on turning promises into measurable progress, but whether Payday 3 can finally step out of its predecessor’s shadow remains uncertain.
