The Payday franchise is venturing into Fortnite with the release of "Heist Escape Roguelike: Payday Experience," a new game built within Unreal Engine for Fortnite (UEFN). This move represents Starbreeze, the developer behind Payday, seeking innovative ways to engage both existing fans and introduce the series to a new audience.
A Roguelike Take on Classic Heists
"Heist Escape Roguelike: Payday Experience" reimagines core elements of the Payday series as a progressive roguelike shooter. The experience features three distinct heists: the Jewelry Store, the Bank, and the Harbor. Each heist is designed with multiple unique rooms to ensure a high degree of replayability, a common characteristic of the roguelike genre.
Starbreeze chief growth officer Matt Dixon stated that integrating Payday into the Fortnite ecosystem via UEFN is a key part of their strategy. "We recognize that today's audiences are discovering legendary IPs in entirely new ways," Dixon commented, emphasizing the goal of attracting new players to the broader Payday platform.
Strategic Expansion Beyond Core Titles
This Fortnite collaboration follows a pattern of Starbreeze exploring new avenues for the Payday IP. While the original Payday 2, released in 2013, continues to maintain a strong player base on platforms like Steam, its successor, Payday 3, has faced significant challenges. Despite ongoing updates for Payday 3, the studio appears to be diversifying its approach to franchise engagement.
Prior to the Fortnite release, Starbreeze announced a Roblox spinoff game in April. This followed the 2024 launch of "Notoriety: A Payday Experience" on Roblox and a previously announced VR title, "Payday: Aces High." These diverse projects indicate a strategy to reach different player demographics across multiple gaming platforms.
"Heist Escape Roguelike: Payday Experience" is available now within Fortnite. Players can access it using Island Code 8105-9005-4478.