Hotline Miami collaboration enhances Payday 3 gameplay with Jacket Character Pack on February 3.
Starbreeze Studios has announced a surprising collaboration between the 2012 indie game Hotline Miami and Payday 3. While the two series have collaborated in the past, Hotline Miami hasn’t been particularly relevant for a long time, making its inclusion in Payday 3 a pleasant surprise.
Payday 3 has faced an uphill battle ever since its launch. It received an extremely polarizing response upon launch, and didn’t feature nearly as much content as its predecessor. Many were left wondering why they’d bother to leave Payday 2 behind at all. For a short time in 2024, Payday 3 clawed its way to “Mostly Positive” Steam reviews, although this has since fallen back to “Mixed.” That hasn’t stopped Starbreeze Studios from continuing to work on Payday 3, despite the game failing to meet critical or commercial expectations.
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A new trailer released online confirmed that Payday 3 is getting a Hotline Miami collaboration, bringing one of the best indie games of all time to the heist shooter. The pack itself will allow gamers to play as the voiceless protagonist Jacket, and adds several new weapons to the game. One of the new Overkill Weapons is called Sociopath, and looks just like the baseball bat Jacket uses in Hotline Miami. The Jacket Character Pack is set to release for Payday 3 on February 3, coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC versions of the game.
Payday 3 is Getting a Hotline Miami Collaboration on February 3
Curiously, this isn’t the first collaboration between the two. A Hotline Miami DLC was also released for Payday 2 back in 2014, although notably, this was when the hype for the original game was still high, and the sequel was still in the works. There hasn’t been a Hotline Miami game in almost a decade, and as great as it is, it’s undoubtedly less relevant than it was at the time. Therefore, it’s pretty surprising to see this collaboration come to life. It’s still a welcome surprise – more Hotline Miami is never a bad thing.
It remains to be seen what the future holds for Payday 3. The franchise still has plenty of name value among gamers, but it has undeniably been hurt by the reaction to Payday 3. It was announced at the tail end of 2024 that Payday 3 will be getting a lower level of investment moving forward, a worrying sign for fans. While Starbreeze Studios remains confident it can deliver good value to players, it has a very long road ahead if the game is to live up to the legacy of its predecessor.
