Starbreeze still operating at a loss, but has other IP in development

Developer Starbreeze has released its own earnings report for the second quarter of 2022. Though the company continues to operate at a loss, it's also at work on other projects beyond the previously announced Payday 3. Through this, the developer aims to "ensure that there is a long-term and differentiated revenue model to help strengthen Starbreeze as a company," wrote CEO Tobias Sjögren.

Beginning in 2019 and following the ousting of then-CEO Bo Andersson, Starbreeze found itself in a financial bind that it's slowly, but surely beginning to get out of as the studio continues to work on Payday 2 content and Payday 3. 

The second quarter for the Payday 2 maker saw 31.8 SEK ($2.9 million) in net sales, a near-five percent decrease from 2021's second quarter. Almost all of those net sales can be attributed to the Payday franchise for the three-month period that ended on June 30, 2022. The franchise raked in 30 million SEK ($2.8 million)  in that time period.

For Payday 2 specifically, and adjusting for exchange rate, sales dropped by 25 percent at quarter's start. Starbreeze expects that decline to continue into the third quarter, and acknowledged that the release of other big games through the quarter contributed to the decrease. 

That said, it argued that it was still "well positioned" for positive sales in the upcoming quarter. "Payday 2 is a game that, due to its age, has a relatively low price tag compared to the new games," continued Sjögren. "And as always, we have several PAYDAY 2 releases which will contribute positively to sales in the coming quarter."

Payday 3 is on track to release in 2023, the report reiterated, and will still be published by Plaion (formerly Koch Media). Development was said in the report to continue "according to plan," and Starbreeze plans to ensure it will have a "strong and successful launch." 

Briefly in the report, Starbreeze touched on its future. While it'll develop other "games and entertainment products" related to the Payday IP, it's also begun to develop new IP and games. Following Payday 3, Starbreeze will work on its next title. "We are working on several fronts to develop our next game with a view to release in 2025."