Vice studios bets big on payday franchise – hollywood bound?

Vice Studios, the company behind the gritty crime drama Gangs of London, is poised to inject the Payday video game franchise into film and television. A partnership with Starbreeze Entertainment signals a significant step for the heist series, though details remain scarce.

Vice studios acquires payday rights – a new chapter for the masked robbers

The acquisition grants Vice Studios the rights to develop adaptations of the popular game series, potentially bringing characters like Chains, Dallas, Hoxton, and Wolf to the big and small screens. Starbreeze Entertainment, the original developer, has long discussed the potential for a Payday movie or show, with former CEO Tobias Sjögren calling it a “perfect fit” back in 2023.

The Payday franchise, which began with Payday: The Heist in 2011, built its reputation on cooperative heists and emergent gameplay. Subsequent installments, Payday 2 (2013) and Payday 3 (2023), further expanded the universe, though the latest title has struggled to maintain player interest. SteamDB data shows Payday 3 rarely surpasses1,000 concurrent players.

Starbreeze has been seeking to transform Payday from a video game into a broader entertainment platform. “Our goal is to grow PAYDAY from a game into a full entertainment platform, owning the heisting genre,” stated current CEO Adolf Kristjansson. He sees Vice Studios as the ideal partner to achieve this, citing their creative ambition and production capabilities.

While the specifics of the adaptation remain under wraps, the potential to explore the backstories and motivations of the iconic masked criminals is a tantalizing prospect for fans. The challenge will be translating the complex, cooperative gameplay into a compelling narrative for a wider audience. The failure of Payday 3 to resonate with players underscores the risks involved in expanding a franchise beyond its core strength.

Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN.