Universal's Games and Starbreeze a brand new mobile video game, titled Payday: Crime War. This recently announced Payday game will be a free-to-play project that will adopt the "games-as-a-service" approach. Considering that Starbreeze has already confirmed that Overkill is developing a proper Payday 3, there's a chance we're not dealing with yet another Diablo: Immortal scenario over again.
"Mobile's half the game's market at this point, and everyone carries mobile phones, even core gamers who play on console and PC have a phone," said Universal EVP Chris Heatherly, speaking to Games Industry. "If you want to be a relevant gaming brand, you've gotta be on mobile."
Heatherly joined Universal over two years ago to start building a team geared specifically for mobile gaming. The team is now around 60 strong, and is reportedly preparing for around 4-5 releases this year alone, including already-out Fast & Furious Takedown, story-building Series: Your Story Universe, and now Payday: Crime War, with only two more titles left to be announced in the near future.
The last few months have been nothing short of a nightmare for Starbreeze. Following the terrible launch sales numbers of OVERKILL's The Walking Dead, delay of its console versions, Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint's resignation, and the looming danger of a complete overhaul, Starbreeze has also had to deal with the Swedish Economic Crime Authority and their recent raid on the dev's offices.