Payday 3 developer Starbreeze has fired CEO Tobias Sjögren after the rocky launch of the latest game in the series.
The announcement came via a notice to investors from the company, stating that it is parting ways with Sjögren after three years. As the search for a new permanent CEO begins, Juergen Goeldner has been named interim CEO.
“The company has a clear strategy centered around creating attractive games on our own and licensed IPs. The board’s consolidated assessment is that the execution of strategy needs a different leadership. Juergen Goeldner has been part of the board since 2023 and, with over 40 years of industry experience, is a strong interim solution,” Starbreeze chairman Torgny Hellström said.
“Starbreeze has a strong history of developing and publishing games globally. After launching Payday 3, the company is well-positioned to leverage the strengths of the organization to monetize and develop the IP portfolio. I am looking forward to assuming an operative position and, together with the management, ensure the execution of this strategy,” Goeldnar said.
Payday 3 launched in September 2023, but has been plagued by server issues and various gameplay bugs since. Starbreeze admitted in February that the game had performed at “significantly lower levels” than the studio had hoped.
At the time, Sjögren said that the focus of the studio was to improve the game to meet player expectations.
“We are working closely with our co-publishing partner Plaion to identify the changes
that we will implement, in both the short- and long-term, that add the most value to the gaming experience,” Sjögren told investors during the company’s 2023 year-end report.
What do you think of Starbreeze firing its CEO after the rocky launch of Payday 3? For more Insider Gaming, read about the new game studio formed by former Activision and Naughty Dog developers.
About time an executive was fired instead of game devs.