Highlights
- Payday 3 has official PC hardware requirements posted by developer Starbreeze Studios, indicating a necessary upgrade in hardware for the game's new, modern engine.
- The recommended specs, such as the Nvidia GTX 1080 with 8 GB of VRAM, may not provide enough detail for players to understand the game's performance targets and settings.
- Payday 3 will always be online and connected to Starbreeze's servers, which may disappoint hardcore fans who enjoyed the modding scene of Payday 2.
Payday 3 now has a set of official PC hardware requirements posted by the developer, Starbreeze Studios. The long-awaited follow-up to one of the most DLC-heavy mainstream video games of all time is due to launch in late September, and the developer is setting the stage for everything to go along as smoothly as possible, system requirements being one of the last missing pre-release puzzle pieces.
Though it's a given that Payday 3 will improve upon Payday 2 in many different ways, the switch to a new, modern engine also necessitates a hefty bump-up in hardware requirements. Though Starbreeze's recommendations aren't nearly as tall of an order as some other contemporary PC game releases, there's also the obvious issue of launch-day optimization and performance to consider.
According to Starbreeze Studios, the humble Nvidia GTX 1080 with 8 GB of VRAM should be enough to run Payday 3 at its recommended settings. Though this sounds like good news for gamers with aging rigs, it's immediately worth pointing out that the game's Steam system requirements section is remarkably plain. There's no telling what settings or performance targets Starbreeze may have in mind, for example, meaning that the recommended specs may well be targeting something ridiculous, like 1080p/30 FPS. Unlikely though this may be, Payday 3's hardware requirements simply aren't as detailed and useful as many had hoped to see from Starbreeze.
One thing that Starbreeze didn't fail to omit, at least, is that Payday 3 is always online, unlike either of its predecessors. Specifically, even though the game supports a way for players to play the game solo on their own terms, it will not be possible to play it fully offline, and the game will instead always be connected to Starbreeze's servers. As Payday 2 enjoyed quite an expansive modding scene at one point in its lifetime, this did not thrill the franchise's most hardcore fans.
The good news, at least, is that Payday 3's shown-off gameplay looks like a logical evolution of what the devs had previously established in Payday 2. With a comprehensive set of combat and stealth improvements, Starbreeze aims to retain the core gameplay loop established in the previous title, all the while delivering key upgrades where they were needed.
As Payday 3 is set mainly in New York, players should be prepared for a sensible change of pace and vibe compared to the previous title. Then again, Payday 2 ended up jumping the shark years ago, leading players on a wild goose chase for alien artifacts and more, so it's hardly impossible that something similar might happen in the new game too.
Payday 3 launches on September 21 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Steam
