Starbreeze names Jonas Skantz, a former executive from Electronic Arts, as the general manager for Payday

Starbreeze has announced Jonas Skantz as the new general manager for its Payday series.

According to the studio, Skantz is expected to lead the franchise's creative and business strategies. His responsibilities include managing the long-term vision for the games, enhancing cooperation between development and publishing teams, and ensuring that Payday provides top-tier cooperative heist gaming experiences for its international audience.

With 20 years in game development and leadership, Skantz has been involved with major franchises including Battlefield, FIFA, Star Wars, and Need for Speed. He also significantly contributed to expanding EA's Frostbite engine from a tool for a single studio to a company-wide resource.

CEO Adolf Kristjansson praised Skantz, stating, "Jonas brings both strategic vision and hands-on leadership to the Payday franchise. His understanding of games, players, and brand growth makes him an ideal fit to guide Payday into its next chapter. We’re thrilled to have him on board and confident that his leadership will help us deliver even greater experiences to our community."

Kristjansson was named as Starbreeze's CEO in March after CFO Mats Juhl served as interim CEO, which followed Juergen Goeldner stepping down to become chairman of the board.