Overkill Hopes Payday 2 Players Will See Microtransactions Were the Right Decision For The Game

Payday 2 players were understandably angry about a recent introduction of microtransactions into the shooter during its recent Crimefest event.  Where initially, Overkill Software introduced drills to the game that cost players real world cash to open.  A backlash from the fans pushed the developer to dial-back these initiatives, offering random drill drops as a peace offering.

Apparently, this wasn’t enough.  Many fans still believe that the option to buy these items is the developer essentially going back on their word.

A parody website recently went live that gives fans objectives to complete in the “Road From Greedfest.”  The expectations are lofty for the group, they want players to actively try to lower the Steam and Metacritic User scores for the game, while also completing objectives like lowering the active player count.

While players are still mad, Almir Listo of Overkill recently took to Reddit to discuss the future for Payday 2.  This lengthy response to the controversial Crimefest drill purchases is worth a read if you’re wondering if there will be more microtransactions in Payday 2.

Listo confirms that at one point, himself and David Goldfarb did state that there would be no microtransactions in Payday 2, but that essentially times have changed.  The developer points to increased costs and sales tapering off for the game as one reason that such a system was implemented.  When speaking about sales of Payday 2 where the base game was discounted as much as 75% didn’t go as well as hoped, Listo explained: “Needless to say, we didn’t see the result we anticipated, and have had to think of other ways to make sure we can continue creating content in the pace we want in order to keep PAYDAY 2 fresh and exciting.”

Essentially, the Payday 2 team has grown to a point where the costs of development have exceeded their revenue in the traditional business model that they adopted.  The model that garnered them all their dedicated fans and support.  As it stands, these microtransactions prey on the most devout of their community, the ones who want to earn everything that is available in the game.

Despite the backlash from the fans, Listo believes that the the microtransactions in Payday 2 are still Ok and gives a number of reasons why.  First, since the game is entirely a cooperative experience, these microtransactions don’t create a pay to win environment, according to the developer.  Secondly, the boosts are balanced in a way that doesn’t impair the experience of other players.

“We understand that there is a lot of fury, anger and disappointment with us adding this. From an economical standpoint however, completely based on statistics, we can already see that the Black Market update is working as we intended. Going forward, we hope we can convince the parts of the community that resist this change that this was the right decision to do to ensure the stability of OVERKILL as an independent developer and the future growth of PAYDAY 2.”

It doesn’t sound like the Payday 2 community is content with either these responses from Listo or the state of the game.