Payday developer Starbreeze is set to shut down mobile game Payday: Crime War next month, after which it will be relaunched by a new publisher.
The struggling studio is still afloat amid serious financial woes and has announced that a PayDay 3 is still in the works, with a soft 2023 deadline set. But, as of November 12, Crime War has seen in-app purchases disabled, while the game is set for a complete shutdown on December 16th.
A new publisher will be contracted to relaunch the game as part of Starbreeze's attempts to restructure and revive its finances.
"This version of PAYDAY: Crime War will be shut down on December 16, 2019, pending an intended future re-launch with a new publisher," a community announcement reads.
"Once this version of the game is shut down, there will be no further support or updates and all the game’s servers will be closed down, making it unavailable to play. In-app purchases will be disabled on November 12, 2019.
"The game is expected to be re-launched with a new publisher. In the meantime, NBCUniversal would like to thank you for the support and enthusiasm you’ve shown so far for PAYDAY: Crime War!"
The Swedish company's fight to remain relevant should be applauded and this should come as great news to fans as Payday is a pretty popular title and it would be sad to see its developers sink.
"The reconstruction work is continuing and the company intends to present a reconstruction plan shortly," the studio announced in a statement last month. "As part of this work, the company will send letters to the creditors in the next few days with proposals for settlement. The letters will be followed by composition negotiations, after which the final reconstruction plan will be presented.
It's hoped that they could stick to their plans and bring the world a third installment from the franchise. But it remains to be seen how successful the Crime War relaunch will be.
Source: Universal Studios Interactive