D&D game from Starbreeze canceled as studio shifts focus to Payday

Developer Starbreeze announced Thursday that it had canceled its co-op Dungeons & Dragons game, codenamed Project Baxter. The cancellation is part of the studio’s shift to re-focusing on its Payday franchise, whose last game came out in 2023 with Payday 3.

“This was a difficult but necessary decision,” Starbreeze CEO Adolf Kristjansson said in an announcement. Part of the Project Baxter team will be reassigned to other projects, mostly within the studio’s work on Payday. Some developers, however, will seemingly be laid off as part of this cancellation, with the announcement stating, “Where internal opportunities are limited, Starbreeze will provide active support for affected employees to transition to new roles across the industry.”

Project Baxter was originally announced in 2023. Starbreeze noted at the time it would “feature the signature game cornerstones” of the studio, which it identified as co-op multiplayer, a “lifetime commitment” to it as a service game, and community engagement. Project Baxter was meant to release in 2026. Starbreeze hadn’t shared much on Project Baxter since, though it did show off some concept art and an in-engine still from the game about a year ago on Instagram.

Canceling Project Baxter is in service to Starbreeze’s Payday franchise, which the developer is turning its focus toward. “We are doubling down on what our players love – and what we do best – owning the heisting genre,” Kristjansson said.

Starbreeze launched Payday 3 in 2023 to a mixed reception, with Polygon’s review stating, “Even if the moment-to-moment gameplay has been improved, the soul of Payday is clearly in the systems that surround it, which is where this threequel is sorely lacking.” It reportedly failed to meet sales expectations.

As for D&D players looking to play more video games based on the franchise, pull out your Steam Decks because Baldur’s Gate 3 recently received a native Steam Deck build. The director of the Star Wars Jedi games is also working on an untitled AAA D&D game, though it’s likely a few years away.

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Author: 360 Technology Group