Payday 'front and center' as Starbreeze closes out its reconstruction-filled 2019

Starbreeze has detailed the results of the 2019 financial year, a pivotal period for the once nearly-defunct company, and shared how both new Payday 2 content and an eventual Payday 3 launch play into its future plans.

During Q4, Starbreze launched the first bit of Payday 2 DLC since first announcing active development would resume, a kickoff the company says led to higher than expected sales and concurrent players. At peak, 56,582 players were concurrently exploring Payday 2, the “highest level in some time.”

“This is a good sign that confirms the interest in a future release of Payday 3 and lays a stable foundation for continued efforts,” notes Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark. Current plans see the company shopping around for a publishing agreement for Payday 3, and hope to have news on that front available by the end of Q2 2020.

“Payday is the company’s most important brand and we are seeking a good partner that can provide financial stability and possesses the marketing and distribution resources required to power the best possible launch and further development of the product.”

For just the quarter, Payday as a series brought in SEK 50.8 million (~$5.28 million) of Starbreeze’s total SEK 51.1 million (~$5.31 million) net sales. Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortization (EBITDA) came in at SEK 26.8 million (~$.2.8 million) for the quarter, up from SEK -73.7 million (~ -$7.7 million) for Q4 2018, while loss before tax was reported as SEK -156.7 million (~ -$12.3 million), up from SEK -1.26 billion (~ -$130.9 million).

Looking at the full year ending December 31, 2019, Starbreeze reported SEK 280 million (~$29.1 million) in sales, down 20 percent from SEK 350 million (~$36.4 million) the year before. EBITDA was reported as a loss of SEK -116.5 million (~ -$12.1 million), down from a SEK -10.3 million (~ -$1.1 million) loss last year.

Loss before tax decreased year-over-year, coming in at SEK -452.4 million (~ -$46.9 million ) for 2019, as opposed to 2018’s SEK -1.35 billion (~ -$140.2 million). Costs associated with that reconstruction effort, meanwhile, came in at SEK 36.5 million (~$3.8 million) for the full year.