Payday 2 publisher Starbreeze might not last another year if additional funding can't be found

Payday 2 publisher Starbreeze recently released a Q1 2019 financial report (via MCV) which reveals the studio has experienced significant losses in sales, and may not last through the next 12 months unless it finds additional funding.

Starbreeze has been having difficulties for quite some time, with 2018 seeing its project Overkill’s The Walking Dead get cancelled and withdrawn from Steam following disappointing sales and the loss of backing from Skybound Entertainment. The studio then went under reconstruction in December 2018 in a bid to recover, but, as the report shows, it’s still far from being stable.

“The company currently lacks sufficient secured funds to continue operating for the coming 12 months,” Starbreeze states in the report, “and a liquidity shortfall is expected before mid-year 2019 if no additional funds are provided.”

Starbreeze CEO Mikael Nermark outlined in the report how the studio was being hit the hardest, and pointed to lower net sales and higher administrative costs related to the reconstruction and the negative accounting effect of the sale of its latest title System Shock 3.

“My main task is to secure financing for the company’s future operations. This involves both long-term financing we can use to build the Starbreeze of the future,” Nermark stated, “but also making sure that the assets we have determined are unrelated to the core business are managed in a commercially viable way.”

In the close of Nermark’s statement, the CEO revealed all is not lost yet thanks to the studios strongest asset Payday, which could help to keep Starbreeze afloat while it tries to acquire more funding: “We are in a challenging situation. I stand united with the entire Starbreeze team in the efforts to get the business in order. We have a very strong asset in Payday, which is the foundation upon which we will build Starbreeze future.”

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Heather Wald is the Evergreen Editor, Games at GamesRadar+. Her writing career began on a student-led magazine at Bath Spa University, where she earned a BA (Hons) in English literature. Heather landed her first role writing about tech and games for Stuff Magazine shortly after graduating with an MA in magazine journalism at Cardiff University. Now with almost seven years of experience working with GamesRadar+ on the features team, Heather helps to develop, maintain, and expand the evergreen features that exist on the site for games, as well as spearhead the Indie Spotlight series. You'll also see her contribute op-eds, interview-led features, and more. In her spare time, you'll likely find Heather tucking into RPGs and indie games, reading romance novels, and drinking lots of tea.