Payday 3, which is playable in single-player and multiplayer modes, will ask for a constant active Internet connection so that cross-progression and cross-play can be supported.
“You will be able to play by yourself, but I do believe you will have to have a connection in order to play, because it’s made in Unreal Engine and has cross-progression and cross-play — I do believe we need you to be online,” said Starbreeze global brand director Almir Listo, answering a question about offline play in a livestream (via Video Games Chronicle).
This is unlike others in the series, as Payday 1 and Payday 2 allowed the game’s artificial intelligence to step in as teammates or let the player try to finish the heist alone. Consequently, the community is disheartened because this requirement might shut players with unstable or shared Internet connections out of the game entirely.
Some fans have claimed that “always online” offers advantages — namely making portability for save files easier, and making cheats harder to use. However, players are also concerned with what happens when Starbreeze is done with Payday 3, and whether or not the game’s servers would be shuttered.
That would effectively nullify any physical copies of the game, an outcome that Payday players are very much wanting to avoid after waiting a decade for the next entry in the heist series.
Payday 3 follows the original members Chains, Hoxton, Dallas and Wolf as they are brought out of the shadows to restart their lives of crimes. Set in New York, the events of the game’s story will cover themes of widespread surveillance and cryptocurrency.
Last month, a new trailer for Payday 3 confirmed the shooter will launch in September.
In other gaming news, developers working on Starfield are asking fans to stop with the slew of questions about the RPG.