Starbreeze Ditches D&D: A 'Strategic Review' or Just More Heisting Hocus Pocus?

AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer · Thu Oct 02 2025

Starbreeze has cancelled its D&D project, 'Project Baxter,' to refocus all its energies on the *Payday* franchise, a move CEO Adolf Kristjansson calls 'difficult but necessary' despite the recent struggles of *Payday 3* and an estimated 44 layoffs.

Right, so you know that feeling when you're excitedly planning a grand magical heist, complete with dragons and ancient artifacts, and then suddenly your spellbook goes up in smoke and you're told to just... go back to pickpocketing goblins? Yeah, well, Starbreeze, the maestros behind the *Payday* series, just pulled a similar trick, albeit with less actual magic and more corporate strategising.

Turns out, their ambitious *Dungeons & Dragons* project, codenamed 'Project Baxter', has officially been banished to the realm of 'what ifs'. Two years after its big reveal back in 2023, with a promised 2026 release, Starbreeze has announced they're ditching the dice rolls to, wait for it... double down on *Payday*. Bloody hell, talk about a plot twist nobody saw coming, or maybe, some of us, squinting through the marketing smoke, kinda did.

Now, 'Project Baxter' was meant to be a co-operative multiplayer affair, drenched in the 'Games as a Service' model, with all the community engagement bells and whistles. Sound familiar? It’s pretty much the blueprint for what modern games (and certainly *Payday*) aspire to be. But after a 'strategic review' – a phrase that always makes my digital wizard senses tingle with a healthy dose of skepticism – the board decided their resources would be 'best deployed to accelerate the growth of' the *Payday* series. Translation: D&D wasn't cutting the mustard, and *Payday* is the safe bet.

This 'difficult but necessary decision', as CEO Adolf Kristjansson put it in the press release, isn't without its costs, mind. We're talking a non-cash impairment of around SEK 255 million (that’s roughly £20 million, for those counting coppers). It's a chunky sum, enough to buy a small dragon's hoard, or at least a very fancy staff. Kristjansson waxed lyrical about *Payday* being 'one of the most iconic IPs in gaming, with unmatched reach and potential.' He reckons focusing talent and investment there will 'accelerate delivery, engage players with more content, and reinforce Starbreeze's position as the clear leader in the heisting genre.'

Now, hold on a minute, mate. 'Unmatched reach and potential'? 'Clear leader in the heisting genre'? I love a good heist as much as the next gamer who's spent far too many hours in a vault, but we can't ignore the rather *large* elephant in the room. *Payday 3*, bless its cotton socks, launched disastrously in 2023. Server issues, progression woes, content droughts – it was a perfect storm of player frustration. It felt less like a master plan coming together and more like a clown car piling into a brick wall. So, when Starbreeze talks about 'sharpening our focus to create the strongest long-term value for our players', it's hard not to raise a cynical eyebrow and wonder if this is more about shoring up a listing ship than truly innovating.

And here’s the kicker, the human element of every corporate strategic pivot: layoffs. While 'part of the Baxter team will be redeployed across Starbreeze's projects, most prominently within Payday,' the reality is that 'where internal opportunities are limited, Starbreeze will provide active support for affected employees to transition to new roles across the industry.' They estimate a reduction of around 44 full-time employees and contractors. That’s 44 people who were crafting adventures in a fantastical world, now having to navigate the often-treacherous job market. It’s a harsh reminder that behind every 'strategic decision' are actual lives and livelihoods.

Kristjansson's continued rhetoric about 'doubling down on what our players love – and what we do best – owning the heisting genre' and *Payday* being 'more than a game – it’s a genre we created and continue to lead' sounds like a powerful incantation. But if they're leading the genre, why did *Payday 3* stumble so spectacularly out of the gate? Earlier this year, Starbreeze coughed up to acquire the publishing rights to *Payday 3* from Plaion, claiming it would 'significantly accelerate [their] content development roadmap.' It felt like a rescue mission, and now this D&D cancellation reinforces that narrative.

It makes you wonder, doesn't it? Is this genuinely a clear-sighted move to dedicate all resources to fixing *Payday 3* and building a stronger future for the franchise? Or is it a desperate gamble to funnel everything into the one IP they still have a firm grip on, hoping to prevent another catastrophic misstep? The truth, as always, is probably somewhere in between, a murky potion of financial necessity and a genuine, if perhaps belated, desire to make good on *Payday*'s promise.

From a player's perspective, this could go two ways. Either *Payday* finally gets the unwavering attention it deserves, leading to a truly revitalised experience that lives up to its 'iconic' status. Or, by spreading a limited pool of talent even thinner across a game that's still recovering, it could just mean more of the same struggles, albeit with fewer fantasy creatures involved. I'm cautiously optimistic, as always, but my wand's ready to cast 'Dispel Magic' on any overblown hype. Let's see if this renewed focus on heisting truly brings us a legendary score, or just another broken vault door.

Tags: Gaming Industry, Starbreeze, Payday 3, Dungeons & Dragons, Game Development

Original article: Eurogamer