Payday 3's third-anniversary update is a bold Hail Mary for the struggling heist FPS

The next Payday 3 update is a big moment for the heist shooter. This week marks the third anniversary of the FPS game, and in that time it's struggled to recover from a disastrous launch that saw the community largely return to its predecessor, or move on to other games instead. The Payday 3 September update is developer Starbreeze's 'Hail Mary' moment, and possibly its last chance to sink or swim, and it's throwing everything at the wall. That means transformative changes, an all-new story campaign, improved enemy behavior, and every single DLC heist - past and future - being made available for free.

"The year-three anniversary is a very special update for us, and honestly we're getting a bit emotional," Payday 3 Creative Director Andrej Jagar remarks. He thanks the community "who have helped us and stayed with us throughout a very… interesting three years of development." From there, he walks us around the Starbreeze studio to speak with the team and learn what the future holds for Payday 3. To start with, all previously paid-for heists are being rolled into the base game, with a commitment that future additions will also be free. If you've already bought any of the others, you'll get a special reward for each one.

Alongside this comes a total redesign of the campaign. Starbreeze admits that "the story isn't really that good for Payday 3," and when it attempted to add more it realized that what was there was already "a dead end" that was hard to work with. "Nobody knew who Shade was if they were coming from Payday 2, they didn't know what role she had in the gang." The new progression rearranges the existing heists into a new, complete storyline that leaves space for future additions to build on.

Next up is the new shooting range, where you can quickly slide different targets to specific ranges to test out your arsenal. You'll be able to study how the likes of spread and crits affect your shots, and damage numbers can be enabled if you want a more detailed look at how hard each weapon hits. You're able to experiment with the game's entire roster of guns, whether you have them unlocked in your current loadout or not.

Game Designer Lisa Kolpacheva walks us through the improvements to enemy behaviour. "Before it felt a little bit like you were being attacked from all directions by a swarm of small mosquitoes." She explains the fantasy the team is hoping to achieve is a more deliberate sense of, "Okay, now they're coming from this direction, so we need to cover this, and they're also coming from that direction, so your teammates need to protect your back." This should result in more consistency and clarity, letting you feel more in control of your response.

Another change is to specials. "We actually made them special," Kolpacheva notes. How? "Simple, we removed everything that doesn't make them special." Zappers, for example, no longer have the pistols they tended to favor over their disabling tasers. Grenadiers keep their LMGs, but are more proactive about lobbing explosives your way. They've also been to the gym, she adds, and will run at you rather than lumbering so slowly that any sense of menace is lost.

On the player side, Kolpacheva says the team wanted to keep throwables "nice to use and powerful," but limit the supply so as not to let players "ruin the whole heist with all your grenades." Secondary grenades no longer offer frags as a result, but instead allow flashbangs that can benefit from a specific flashbang skill tree. Elsewhere, audio improvements should make shots sound clearer and more distinct, giving you a better impression of who is firing and what they're actually aiming at.

Starbreeze is also introducing a weapon perks system. Each class will have three to five perks you can choose from, with some that work only while the weapon in question is equipped, and others staying active as long as it's in your loadout. The early team favorites include 'Vampire' for SMGs, which heals you based on damage dealt, and 'Pinpuller,' which will cause you to trigger a grenade on an enemy you're using as a human shield when you push them away. Iconic weapons all come with their own perks, too, and they'll be ones you can't normally find on their particular weapon class.

Elsewhere, there's a new emote menu, with a selection of fresh additions. Then, there's the latest Crimebond, 'Brute Force.' This includes the OVE9050 portable saw, which supports different blades depending on whether you're planning to use it to cut through environments or enemies. There's also the Locomotive 12G, a shotgun that goes in the secondary weapon slot and "hits like a train," albeit with just a three-shell capacity. You can also get your hands on the likes of the Insurgent LMG, and the stylish Anarchist outfit complete with red shirt and leather jacket.

The next Payday 3 update releases on Tuesday September 22. It's a big shakeup, and feels like the best chance that Starbreeze has to get lapsed players back on board. We're coming right off the back of a new Payday 2 heist, so attention for the series is likely to be at its highest in a while, but we'll have to wait and see whether this grand overhaul is enough to grant Payday 3 a true second lease on life.

As for the future, Jagar teases that we can expect at least "one big beat of the story" to roll out in December, although says he can't say more for now. "And we're looking forward to working on that. Thank you - keep playing."