Starbreeze Studios Layoffs Continue

Starbreeze Studios Layoffs Continue

Drama

22 January 2026 07:13

Starbreeze Studios is dealing with fresh layoffs, adding more pain to a developer already battered by the rocky road of Payday 3. Employees started sharing the tough news on LinkedIn this week, though the company in Stockholm hasn't put out any official word yet.

The posts from staff paint a pretty grim picture. QA tester Alexander Pereswetoff-Morath wrote, “Today, many of us at Starbreeze, Stockholm, got sad news and I’m now seeking a new role and would appreciate your support.” He went on to note his long tenure, saying, “After over 7 years, the longest I’ve ever been at any company in any industry, my time has (more than likely) come.”Senior Tech Producer Sabina af Jochnick echoed the sentiment, posting, “Due to the recent layoffs at Starbreeze, my role has been identified as at risk of redundancy, so I’m beginning to look at what’s next.”

Payday 3's Rough History Fuels the Trouble

Ever since Payday 3 dropped in 2023, things have been rough. The launch hit players with massive frustrations, server issues, and gameplay gripes that sent a ton of the community packing early. The backlash was so intense that Starbreeze ended up letting go of then-CEO Tobias Sjögren not long after.

By late 2024, the studio dialed back big time, announcing plans to pour “significantly less” money into year-two content for the game. That shift came after earlier cuts too, including around 15% of the workforce gone between 2024 and early 2025, plus more hits in late 2025 tied to scrapping their Dungeons & Dragons project.

Financial headaches haven't helped. Reports from a couple years back showed hefty losses, and the focus has stayed locked on trying to salvage Payday's future.

More:Esports World Cup 2026 Prize Pool Announced

Tags: Starbreeze Studios Payday

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Starbreeze Studios Layoffs Continue

Drama

22 January 2026 07:13

Tags: Starbreeze Studios Payday

Starbreeze Studios is dealing with fresh layoffs, adding more pain to a developer already battered by the rocky road of Payday 3. Employees started sharing the tough news on LinkedIn this week, though the company in Stockholm hasn't put out any official word yet.

The posts from staff paint a pretty grim picture. QA tester Alexander Pereswetoff-Morath wrote, “Today, many of us at Starbreeze, Stockholm, got sad news and I’m now seeking a new role and would appreciate your support.” He went on to note his long tenure, saying, “After over 7 years, the longest I’ve ever been at any company in any industry, my time has (more than likely) come.”Senior Tech Producer Sabina af Jochnick echoed the sentiment, posting, “Due to the recent layoffs at Starbreeze, my role has been identified as at risk of redundancy, so I’m beginning to look at what’s next.”

Payday 3's Rough History Fuels the Trouble

Ever since Payday 3 dropped in 2023, things have been rough. The launch hit players with massive frustrations, server issues, and gameplay gripes that sent a ton of the community packing early. The backlash was so intense that Starbreeze ended up letting go of then-CEO Tobias Sjögren not long after.

By late 2024, the studio dialed back big time, announcing plans to pour “significantly less” money into year-two content for the game. That shift came after earlier cuts too, including around 15% of the workforce gone between 2024 and early 2025, plus more hits in late 2025 tied to scrapping their Dungeons & Dragons project.

Financial headaches haven't helped. Reports from a couple years back showed hefty losses, and the focus has stayed locked on trying to salvage Payday's future.

More:Esports World Cup 2026 Prize Pool Announced

Share:

Sources:

Report mistake Submit news

Related news

View All

Payday 2 Subscription Service Revealed

To mark the 12th anniversary of the Payday franchise, Starbreeze has launched a new subscription service for Payday 2, giving...

More

Sep 25, 2025

Valve Fights Back Against New York AG Loot Box Lawsuit, Calls Demands "Bad for Users"

TL;DR

• Valve has publicly responded to New York Attorney General Letitia James' February 26 lawsuit over CS2, Dota 2, and...

  Drama

  Mar 12, 2026

Chained Echoes Developer Sues Publisher First Press Games Over Undelivered Kickstarter Physical Editions

TL;DR

• Matthias Linda, the solo developer behind acclaimed RPG Chained Echoes, has announced he is terminating his relationship with physical...

  Drama

  Mar 12, 2026

UK Music Rights Body PRS Sues Valve Over Unlicensed Music on Steam, Citing Forza, FIFA and GTA

TL;DR

• The Performing Right Society (PRS) has commenced legal proceedings against Valve under the UK's Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act...

  Drama

  Mar 10, 2026

Top Esports Jungler Naiyou Confesses to Match-Fixing Every LPL Playoff Loss, Coach Confirms

TL;DR

• Top Esports jungler Yang "naiyou" Zi-Jian has confessed to intentionally losing every game TES dropped in the LPL Playoffs,...

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