Starbreeze acquires Payday rights for $30 million in shares

Swedish studio Starbreeze has acquired the rights to 505 Games' Payday franchise, and will now have complete control over the IP going forward. 

Starbreeze, the parent company of Payday developer Overkill Software, has seen a remarkable change in fortunes since the launch of Payday and Payday 2, generating record revenue off the back of strong sales. 

The deal will see 505 walk away with 10.9 million B-shares in Starbreeze, which, in monetary terms, is equivalent to roughly $30 million. 

“Payday is very close to my heart, and has laid the foundation for Starbreeze success in recent years. We’re very excited to bring our heisters home to the safe house,” said Bo Andersson Klint, Starbreeze CEO. 

“To start with, we believe in the continued success of Payday 2 and will support it for at least another 18 months continuing expanding the game.”

Following the transaction Starbreeze says it will own the "full rights" to the Payday franchise, and will retain full net revenue from any Payday 2 sales on Steam. 

Any revenue generated by sales of the console version, Payday 2: Crimewave Edition, will be split between both companies and 505 will continue to publish the title. 

Moreover, 505 will also retain a 33 percent revenue share, capped at $40 million, of Starbreeze's net revenues derived from the sale of the in-development follow-up, Payday 3.