Starbreeze Studios, the developers of Payday, are expecting a "liquidity shortfall" by the midpoint of 2019 unless acting CEO Mikael Nermark can secure a fresh injection of funds from an outside investor by then, according to a report from Gamesindustry.biz.
The Swedish company outlined just how grave its position is at the moment, also noting what it will take to keep them from going under, as part of its first-quarter financial report.
The company has been locked in a rebuilding phase since the beginning of December last year and time seems to be running out. Its Q1 report revealed that there is not enough capital to keep afloat for another 12 months and it's bracing for a liquidity shortfall by the middle of this year if it cannot attract another source of funding.
The studio experienced a 56 percent year-on-year earnings drop in the first quarter, making just $5 million. Overkill's The Walking Dead accounted for a meager $220,000 of that sum and was partly responsible for the company's instability during the period.
Payday, as the name suggests, was the biggest contributor, having brought in $2.8 million - just around the same as Q1 of the previous year. Starbreeze's hopes rest squarely on the success of the game. Nermark describes Payday as "a very strong asset" and "the foundation upon which we will build Starbreeze's future."
Starbreeze is already nursing a $17.5 million pre-tax loss, a much bigger hit than the previous year's $6.4 million and is in desperate need of new investment.
The company, which has already sold some of it's publishing rights to other games, had discussed expediting the production of Payday 3 last January. However, it doesn't appear that they will be able to complete the game without fresh funding.