Payday 3

 Xbox Series X
Metascore
67

Mixed or average reviews - based on 12 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 12
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 12
  3. Negative: 2 out of 12
  1. XboxAddict
    Nov 27, 2023
    70
    I'm not saying Payday 3 should have the same amount of content as Payday 2, but with the low amount of heists and guns and the sloppy progression system, the game in its current form is mediocre when compared to the previous entry. With that being said, if it gets the same treatment as Payday 2 with post-launch content, Payday 3 could live up to be something really good that surpasses its predecessor. Right now, though it's not much, but I do think the future can be bright for this game.
  2. GamesRadar+
    Sep 22, 2023
    70
    Despite leaning a little too heavily on fan-servicing familiarity, Payday 3 proves there's still fun to be squeezed from its well-honed heisting template yet.
  3. Digital Trends
    Sep 21, 2023
    70
    Payday 3 doesn't shake up its predecessor's formula much, but a strong batch of initial heists sets the live service shooter up for success.
  5. Xbox Tavern
    Oct 10, 2023
    56
    After a decade away, it’s disappointing that Payday 3 feels so insubstantial and unwilling to evolve from its excellent predecessor. The heist variety and enemy types are cool, but the predictably rote objective-following and the continuing practise of shooting bullets into police is tiresome and without change-ups to make them entertaining. For seasoned veterans and newcomers, Payday 3 should grant you a worthwhile exhibition of heists across a smorgasbord of locations, but for everybody else, this’ll be an eye-rolling exercise of the familiar and the banal. If you can band together with three mates then there’s some valuable loot to steal here, but what maybe most apparent is how Payday 3 ironically steals your time without the valuable substance to go along with it.
  6. GamingBolt
    Sep 29, 2023
    50
    Starbreeze Studios' Payday 3 improves the series' base gameplay but falls behind on progression, matchmaking, quality of life and more. The lack of social options makes it an even lesser co-op experience.
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In Progress & Unscored

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  1. Polygon
    Sep 26, 2023
    Hopefully, with time and consideration, Payday 3 can usurp its predecessor, but for now, that predecessor looms large over the new game’s launch. Even if the moment-to-moment gameplay has been improved, the soul of Payday is clearly in the systems that surround it, which is where this threequel is sorely lacking.
  2. Xboxygen
    Sep 27, 2023
    With Payday 3, we thought that the Swedish studio Starbreeze would have learned from its past mistakes, but apparently not. As soon as we launched the game, we discovered that we had to register on the official website to be able to play. Of course, we were stuck with the synchronisation problems, and then the matchmaking errors finally put an end to our desire to play. Despite this, the game’s qualitative gameplay, the number of skills, the mission objects’ random changes and the polished graphics are convincing enough, especially if the game switches to the Unreal Engine 5 in the near future. All in all, considering what Starbreeze has done with Payday 2, it might be better to wait a little before taking full advantage of this game. Everyone is free to make their own choices, but ours has already been made.