Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 300 sampled Steam reviews (213 positive / 87 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Combat11% mention it
- Story & writing7% mention it
- Controls & UI6% mention it
- Progression & loot5% mention it
- Bugs & crashes4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Bugs & crashes15% mention it
- Progression & loot11% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers10% mention it
- Controls & UI8% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
50%
60 reviews
5-15h
80%
70 reviews
15-40h
74%
80 reviews
40-100h
79%
53 reviews
100h+
70%
37 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 63 | 116 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 46% | 49 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 38 | 140 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 66% | 64 | 286 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Aug 27, 2026) · 83 reviews sampled · 286 total reviews in window · weighted 36.8 up / 18.3 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (101)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 70
“PAYDAY 3 is by no means a reskin of the second game, but a true flesh-and-blood sequel, introducing a ton of new features and improvements. The game takes many steps forward while going several steps back. In terms of content, PAYDAY 3 is like a very well-made skeleton that lacks muscle, blood and skin. Empty with just the basics, but with the potential for more.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Payday 3 has a big future ahead of it, and we haven't heard the last of it yet. But now? It's off to a dismal start, with woefully little content. But if you focus on the gameplay, it's fresh, and the improved stealth is a big step forward. Payday 3 is a pretty good title that plays well, but it's just a skeleton that needs to be built upon.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Payday 3 has interesting potential thanks to its diverse cast of criminal characters, character progression options, and various customization features. However, it suffers from several significant issues, including problems with servers, online features, and NPC artificial intelligence. The underdeveloped stealth system and the lack of logic in the behavior of civilians further diminish the enjoyment of the game. Overall, it’s an average game with interesting elements but many shortcomings that need to be addressed.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Payday 3, while having a decent play loop, is a direct downgrade from its predecessor and is loaded with anti-consumer mechanics and major technical issues.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Payday 3 offers a refined gameplay experience, but the lack of a decent progression system and QoL features holds it back from greatness.”
read full review ↗ - 55
“PayDay 3 is a great game, but it is not ‘part 3’. Instead, we got PayDay 2,5 with tons of unnecessary stuff, weird solutions and elements that are lacking. Somewhere, there is a very good game with a cool soundtrack to be found, but that’s not enough.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“The caper fantasy experience that the series continues to provide always makes it a good time even when the messy technical aspects threaten to derail it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Overall, I’d give Payday 3 a tentative 7/10 for now. It is a fun romp with friends, both in stealth and loud variations. The maps can be both simple and complex depending on choice, with some quick clears and more in-depth burglaries. There are not a ton of unique features to be had, but this is a long haul, more is to come.”
read full review ↗ - 65
- 70
“Payday 3 is a great version of Payday, which in itself was a whole lot of fun. At a decent price and with frantic heist action when things go wrong there is such a lot of fun to get out of the game but we are left wondering whether we could have seen more new stuff after a decade of waiting for this follow-up. It will live or die on the loyalty of the playerbase which hopefully means it will do well.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Payday 3 does a ton of heavy lifting to revolutionize its gameplay for a modern age, but struggles to provide the needed content to sustain that.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Having great customization options, weapons, and an easy-to-do progression system, Payday 3 has the right ingredients to be a great shooter. On the other hand, with no offline mode and a lack of content, it might be hard to get more players to jump into the world for the long run.”
read full review ↗
ZdobywcyGier.eu
INDIANTVCZ
Gaming Professors
Jump Dash Roll
eXputer
GRYOnline.pl
Seasoned Gaming
Invision Community
VGChartz
Gamer Guides
Prima Games
PC Invasion…and 89 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.8.1 ChangelogAug 27, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.8 ChangelogAug 25, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.7 ChangelogJul 7, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.6.1 ChangelogJun 24, 2026
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.6 ChangelogJun 23, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.5.1 ChangelogMay 22, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.5 ChangelogMay 19, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.4.1 ChangelogApr 24, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.4 ChangelogApr 21, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- The Peer-to-Peer update is now live!Mar 23, 2026
- Paul is back with a Peer-2-Peer update!Mar 20, 2026
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.3 ChangelogMar 17, 2026
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.2 ChangelogFeb 26, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #50 – Peer-to-Peer Playtest RetrospectiveFeb 6, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #49 - The future of PAYDAY with Paul [Feb-Apr 2026]Jan 28, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.1.1 Hotfix ChangelogJan 14, 2026
- PAYDAY 3: Update 3.1 Changelog - Shopping Spree HeistJan 13, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.5 Changelog – Skills 2.0Dec 2, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #48 - Skills 2.0 Video & Survey ResultsNov 20, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.4Nov 11, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.2.1 - Delivery Charge HeistSep 10, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #44 – Delivery Charge Design InterviewAug 14, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.1.4 Hotfix ChangelogJul 14, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.1.4 Hotfix ChangelogJul 3, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.1.4 Changelog – Smash & GrabJun 25, 2025
- Smash & Grab Update DelayedJun 18, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #43 – OnboardingJun 13, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.1.3 Hotfix ChangelogJun 10, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Update 2.1.2 Changelog - Party Powder Heist & Armor 2.0May 26, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #42 – Interview with Party Powder's Level DesignerMay 23, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- PAYDAY 3: Jacket Character Pack | OUT NOWFeb 3, 2025
- Jacket Character Pack Trailer + Dev Update #11Jan 31, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #39 - God fortsättning!Jan 10, 2025
- PAYDAY 3: Blog Update #38 - The OVERSKILL SystemDec 13, 2024
…and 16 earlier patch announcements.