Payday 2 developer Starbreeze has admitted it “messed up” when it introduced a premium subscription service alongside hiking the price of its $100 DLC bundle by 50%.
The subscription — launched earlier this week — bundled “full access to more than 65 DLCs, packed with heists, weapons, and cosmetics… for a low monthly cost” of $4.99 per month, or $19.99 for six months. At the time, the company said it allowed players to “explore Payday 2’s massive content library at their own pace, mastering the art of heisting one crime at a time” and the subscription — available via Steam — can be canceled at anytime.”
Starbreeze did not, however, warn players thinking of buying the Payday 2 Infamous Collection that it had quietly increased the price from $100 to $150 at the beginning of September, just a few weeks before it launched the subscription. Fans slammed the developer for “trying to slip [the price rise] under the radar.”
Now, in a statement to GameDeveloper, head of commercial Gustav Nisser admitted the developer had “dropped the ball on coordinating internally and communicating with our community properly.”
“The negative reaction makes complete sense, and the community has made it clear how the price change and its timing looks from the outside,” Nisser said. “We agree with the community, we messed up on this one, and we have reverted the price on the bundle effective immediately.”
He continued: “In hindsight we should have realized how it would seem. Since the bundle only charges for the items you don’t own, and the bundle discount is cumulative with any other discounts (i.e. discounts on the included items), the actual full price of the bundle can vary significantly.”
“Heisters – we’ve seen the feedback on the Infamy Collection pricing change that happened earlier this month, and have investigated,” Starbreeze told players on X/Twitter. “The pricing has been reverted to where it should be, and we apologize for this error.”
Starbreeze’s Haua also explained on Reddit: “I know that no one will believe me, but it was an error. Regardless, the damage has been done, and we hope that with this adjustment back that anyone who was hoping to get any DLC can do so through the collection.
“We do appreciate everyone who flagged the issue, and kept talking about it! Keep up being you, guys, and we hope that we can earn back any trust that may have been lost with this.”
A quick check on Steam.db confirms the price for the Infamous Collection has indeed now been reverted, although it’s not clear if anyone who’s paid the additional 50% charge over the last few weeks can claim back the difference.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.