Vice Studios Lands Rights to Adapt ‘Payday’ Video Games for TV and Film (Exclusive)

'Payday' video game. Courtesy of Starbreeze Entertainment

Pew, pew. That’s the sound of Vice Studios securing the global rights to adapt the Payday video games for TV and film.

Vice Studios, the banner behind Gangs of London, has partnered with Starbreeze Entertainment to bring the long-running first-person shooter franchise (Payday: The Heist, Payday 2 and Payday 3) to the screen in non-gaming formats, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

Payday first launched in 2011 and has since evolved to support a community of more than 50 million players. The Payday games have generated more than $400 million in lifetime gross revenue.

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“The game’s masked protagonists have proven that no score is too audacious, no enemy too powerful, and no fortune enough to stop their criminal ambitions,” the studios describe the content of their money-maker. “The cinematic heists mix high-octane action in exciting heist locations with stories about betrayal, conspiracy, and corruption.”

The most recent game in the series, Payday 3, came out in 2023. The franchise has received generally favorable critics’ reviews. Starbreeze is also the Swedish video game studio behind The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena and Out of Sight.

“Payday has a world that is bigger than the game itself,” said Amy Powell, president of Vice Studios. “There’s mythology behind the masks and a crew of characters with real history that is incredibly exciting to explore. Partnering with Starbreeze Entertainment, we’re excited to build that universe and see how far it can go on screen.”

The original Payday was developed by Overkill Entertainment. Starbreeze acquired Overkill in 2012.

“Our goal is to grow Payday from a game into a full entertainment platform, owning the heisting genre,” said Adolf Kristjansson, CEO of Starbreeze Entertainment. “Payday is the cornerstone franchise for Starbreeze, and we’re highly selective about partners who can expand its universe beyond games. Vice Studios is the perfect partner for this project, combining creative ambition with the production capability that feels authentic to Payday.”