Starbreeze Cancels Dungeons & Dragons, Cuts Staff for Payday

Starbreeze has terminated Project Baxter, its cooperative Dungeons & Dragons title, reduced its development team significantly, and revealed a renewed commitment to expanding the Payday franchise.

Originally unveiled in December 2023, Project Baxter was intended as an Unreal Engine 5 D&D experience built around "the hallmark Starbreeze principles of cooperative multiplayer, long-term support via a Games-as-a-Service model, active community interaction, and an epic-scale adventure."

At the time, the studio planned a 2026 launch across all major platforms with crossplay functionality. However, updates grew sparse, with only a single in-engine image shared via social media in September 2024.

As recently as November of last year, Starbreeze confirmed it was still recruiting for Project Baxter, describing development as progressing "at full speed." The studio noted that internal weekly playtests were ongoing and that discussions with prominent industry partners regarding collaboration opportunities were active. By November 2024, Starbreeze employed 191 people, primarily at its Stockholm, Sweden headquarters.

The cancellation of Project Baxter resulted in a SEK 255 million (approximately $27.2 million) write-down of development expenses for the Swedish company.

CEO Adolf Kristjansson described the move as a "difficult but necessary decision," without detailing specific development challenges that contributed to the cancellation.

"Our strategy is unequivocal: Payday stands as one of gaming's most iconic IPs, possessing unparalleled reach and potential," Kristjansson stated. "By concentrating our investments and talent here, we can accelerate content delivery, offer players more engaging experiences, and solidify Starbreeze's dominance in the heist genre. This strategic focus is designed to generate maximum long-term value for our players, team, and shareholders."

A portion of the Baxter team will be reassigned to other Starbreeze projects, mainly within the Payday universe, though approximately 44 full-time employees and contractors will be laid off.

"We are amplifying what our players love—and what we excel at—maintaining our leadership in the heisting genre," Kristjansson continued. "Payday is not merely a game; it's a category we pioneered and continue to define. By reallocating talent and capital, we can introduce innovations to heist gameplay more rapidly while building a foundation for the genre's future growth."

Starbreeze reported that the Payday series has attracted over 50 million players globally and accrued nearly SEK 4 billion (roughly $427 million) in lifetime gross revenue.

"With heightened focus and resources, Starbreeze will expedite its development roadmap, providing more frequent updates, fresh content releases, and sustained live engagement," the company affirmed. "Discontinuing Baxter, combined with intensified focus on Payday, will enable Starbreeze to achieve positive cash flow by 2026."

Kristjansson added, "I extend my sincere gratitude to the Baxter team for their passion and creativity, and I thank Wizards of the Coast for their support. While we have chosen not to proceed with this project, we are proud of Baxter's achievements, and its contributions will influence future Payday titles and Starbreeze's direction. Focusing our efforts on Payday offers Starbreeze and our employees the strongest path to success."

So, what lies ahead for Starbreeze? Payday 2, released 12 years ago, continues to draw significantly more Steam players than Payday 3. Nevertheless, the developer asserts that Payday 3 "is evolving into a scalable live-service platform designed to attract millions of players worldwide." The Payday 3 team is expected to grow to around 50 members by year's end and "continue expanding in line with rising player engagement."

Additionally, Starbreeze confirmed new heist-themed games in development, including spinoffs and narrative-driven projects, alongside plans to bring Payday to new platforms. The company is also offering its development services on a work-for-hire basis.