Starbreeze acknowledges it "dropped the ball" regarding the stealth price hike of its DLC bundle

Starbreeze has acknowledged a misstep after launching a premium DLC subscription for Payday 2 while simultaneously raising the price of its Infamous Collection DLC bundle without prior notification.

The company introduced a subscription service on Steam for Payday 2 as part of celebrations marking the franchise's 12th anniversary on September 24. This service grants players access to all downloadable content for $4.99 monthly or $19.99 for six months, with an option to cancel at any time.

However, the announcement did not mention a 50% price increase for the DLC bundle, escalating its cost from $100 to $150. This led to significant backlash from the game's community.

In a statement to GameDeveloper, Gustav Misser, the head of commercial, remarked, "We failed to coordinate internally and communicate properly with our community."

Misser acknowledged the community's negative reaction, saying, "We understand the frustration, and we agree with the community's perspective. Consequently, we have immediately reverted the bundle's price to its original amount."

He also reflected, "With hindsight, we should have anticipated these concerns. Since the bundle only charges for the content not already owned, and because discounts can apply cumulatively, the total price of the bundle can vary."