Payday 2 is still a little under a week away from being released but that hasn't stopped the game from already turning a profit for developer parent Starbreeze Studios.
Despite the fact that it’s still a good six days from being officially released, upcoming heist-simulator sequel Payday 2 has already become profitable for developer Overkill Studios’ parent company Starbreeze Studios.
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Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson-Klint revealed to investors last night that pre-orders for Payday 2 have been so high that Overkill and Starbreeze have already made back the money they borrowed from publisher 505 Games to develop the game and that any profits generated from here on out will be split between 505 and Starbreeze (with a subsidy of Starbreeze’s earnings going to the team at Overkill).
Andersson-Klint expressed his excitement and enthusiasm in the statement, saying that more unique IP’s from Starbreeze are sure to follow as a result of Payday 2’s success:
"Today Starbreeze has once again demonstrated that our strategy of focusing on our own properties is correct. Not only have we managed to deliver a desirable product in Payday 2 but also executed a promotion that few companies of our size can. We now look forward to the royalty income that can secure the company's development of its own IP in the future. That Payday 2 generates revenue for the company six days before the release is of course very unusual for games of this size and strengthens the long-term nature of our strategy."
Many are equating Payday 2’s success to its pre-order beta program which allowed those who pre-ordered the game’s “Criminal Career” edition through Steam to play the beta and even provided each pre-order with two beta keys so those who pre-ordered it could also invite a friend to play with them.
Payday 2 is currently set to launch on PC via Steam on August 13 with the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions available sometime between August 13-16 as either a retail disc or digital download.
