10 Video Game Franchises You Didn't Realise Were Coming Back

Overkill Studios’ crime simulator series Payday was one of those sleeper hits that suddenly everyone was talking about. Despite being compared to other online squad-based games, there was nothing quite like it at the time. The frantic energy that it produced in panicking parties of criminals made it a stand-out title both in 2011 and again in 2013 with its bigger, beefy sequel.

First announced in 2016 by Starbreeze Studios, the follow-up to Payday 2 feels like one of those projects that fans have been waiting for for so long that hope has dwindled that it might ever become a reality.

Clearly, some of the delay for the next instalment was due to monetary issues. A March 2021 statement from Starbreeze revealed that Koch Media had injected cash into the project to not just assist in overcoming developmental hurdles but make an 18-month window of post-launch games-as-a-service support possible.

With a cash injection like that, Payday 3 can’t afford to vanish into the ether. Since then, the developers have dropped tidbits of info confirming that the game will bring the classic characters out of retirement and take place in modern day New York City.

Set to arrive in 2023, ten years since Payday 2, it’ll be interesting to see how the franchise fits into the ever-evolving online gaming space.