Payday 3 receives long-awaited offline mode…with a catch

One of the most anticipated post-release features for Starbreeze’s co-op heisting game Payday 3 has been an option for solo players to experience the game offline. The good news: the game is technically receiving an offline “Solo” mode very soon! The bad news: the reason I used the word “technically” is because an internet connection is still required to load into the Solo mode to begin with, as well as to upload progress at the end of a session. Starbreeze has assured that this is subject to change and that a more polished, fully offline mode will arrive at a later date.

The new Solo mode will be available for all Payday 3 players following the latest major patch releasing on the 27th of June 2024. In a video describing the update, Starbreeze head of community Almir Listo clarified that it is not so much an “offline mode” as it is a solo mode where portions of the game previously hosted on Starbreeze’s servers are now hosted on your device instead. Listo also cautions that players may see performance drops “since the parts normally front loaded by our servers will now have to be run on your own hardware.”

Listo also made clear that a more traditional offline mode for solo players is on its way. “This is a stepping stone for a feature to come, not something we’re releasing and calling done,” he states in the video. The solo feature is releasing in beta, and Listo requests that players provide feedback so that Starbreeze can improve the experience over time.

Whether an offline mode that isn’t really offline at all is what dissatisfied Payday 3 players eager for overdue patches want will remain to be seen. Payday 3 has had a very rough time since its launch, with the studio’s CEO apologising for the state of the game before stepping down from his position several months later. We will have to wait and see if this new solo mode improves Payday 3’s fortunes at all, as well as look out for more information regarding the actual offline mode which is in the works.