Payday 3 has had a rough launch, with its online-only gameplay coming under fire when the game’s servers went offline multiple times in its first week of release. Developer Starbreeze said it might add an offline mode further down the track, and this week the first iteration of that mode is coming to the game–though it will still require an internet connection for now.
The new Solo Mode (via VG247) is launching in beta in Payday 3’s next major patch, which arrives on June 27. While players will be able to play most of it offline, they will still need an internet connection to load into Solo Mode, and to upload their progress at the end of a session. In a dev update video, Starbreeze head of community Almir Listo also warned that players will see a drop in performance “since the parts normally front loaded by our servers will now have to be run on your own hardware.”
The developers are aware that it’s far from a perfect solution, and have said that this version of Solo Mode is just the first iteration, with a more polished, fully offline option coming later down the track. “This is a stepping stone for a feature to come, not something we’re releasing and calling done,” Listo added.
Because the mode is releasing in beta, Starbreeze are also asking players to report any issues they experience while playing. The studio also has plans to improve the mode in future, hoping to add popular features like hosted co-op in future updates.
Payday 3 has struggled since it came out, facing server issues and low player numbers, and has even seen Starbreeze’s CEO replaced after the messy launch. The studio plans to continue to patch up the troubled game in an effort titled Operation Medic Bag, which the addition of Solo Mode is just a small part of. The ongoing updates plan to add new features, fix up existing ones, and add more content to the game.
