Will Payday 3 get an offline mode?

By Jesse Lennox September 26, 2023

It’s no secret to anyone who attempted to play Payday 3 near its launch that it had more than a few issues. This co-op shooter is built on the idea of you and three friends teaming up to pull off various heists to collect money, level up, and unlock new skills — and then repeat it all on higher difficulty levels. However, due to some major server issues, the majority of people haven’t been able to find matches at all, leading to a major outcry for an offline mode since there’s no way to interact with the game otherwise. As of now, the game remains an always-online experience. Fortunately, developer Starbreeze Studios has been quick to respond to player feedback, but do its plans include an offline mode?

Is Payday 3 getting an offline mode?

Men with masks hold guns in Payday 3. — Deep Silver

At a developer live stream on September 25, Almir Listo, global brand director for Starbreeze, said there are currently no plans to create an offline mode for Payday 3. Listo further explained the server issues that had been occurring so far, stating that “Payday 3 matchmaking infrastructure has not performed as tested and expected. Matchmaking software encountered an unforeseen error which made it unable to handle the massive influx of players. The issue caused an unrecoverable situation for Starbreeze’s matchmaking partners.” The team is evaluating all solutions in both the short and long term, including seeking out new matchmaking partners.

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When responding directly to a commenter’s question about an offline mode, Listo stated: “We cannot give, right now, a clear yes or no answer on this topic because it’s four days since launch. We did not foresee the incredible difficulties you had logging into the game. And we will address that, and answer that properly, as soon as we can.”

While it is possible an offline mode could come somewhere down the line, it appears that the current plan is to simply fix the server and matchmaking issues as they stand, but the team is aware of the demand for such a mode.

Jesse Lennox has been a writer at Digital Trends for over four years and has no plans of stopping. He covers all things…

Gaming

Is Manor Lords multiplayer or co-op?

A medieval market in Manor Lords.

You can easily lose hours designing your village and appeasing your citizens in Manor Lords all by yourself. There are so many different avenues to achieve victory, but the only competition or help you can normally find is in the form of NPCs. Other factions around the map can be helpful or harmful depending on how you play, but what if you wanted to team up with a friend to combine resources, or perhaps compete to see who can crush the other first? Many strategy and city builders thrive on multiplayer components, but does Manor Lords offer those same modes? Make sure you know the answer before making your purchase if that's your intention.
Is there multiplayer or co-op in Manor Lords?
To cut to the chase, the answer is no. Manor Lords is a purely single-player experience through and through. There are no cooperative or competitive modes in the game at all, so there's no way to interact with anyone else either on PC or console. This game was just released out of early access, and there is plenty of content on the way, however, we regret to inform you that multiplayer is not in the plans for the time being.

One developer took to the Steam forums to release an FAQ on the game. One question specifically asked if there is any multiplayer or cooperative gameplay in the game. The response said that "he focus is on a refined single-player experience, with no multiplayer or cooperative modes planned at the moment."

Gaming

Splitgate 2: release date window, trailers, gameplay, and more

A character in pink armor and a player character with two guns pointing towards a yellow portal in Splitgate 2.

In 2021, the original Splitgate became an overnight success when word spread about its beta. It blended the best elements of arena shooters with the mind-bending mechanics of Portal. Instead of simply running and shooting around a map, all players had the ability to create portals to flank and create new sightlines through. This opened up a ton of possibilities, and yet the game was almost immediately abandoned after reaching 1.0. Now, developer 1047 Games is back with a full sequel. Splitgate 2 isn't just a few more maps and guns, but a full-on sequel. Let's jump through this portal and get the drop on all the details about this new game.
Release date window

Splitgate 2 only has a rough release window of 2025. There's no way to tell right now when next year it will come, but it would be safer to assume in the second half.
Platforms
Splitgate 2 will be available for most platforms when it is released. This includes PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. It will also be free-to-play so everyone is welcome to jump in and give it a shot.
Trailers
Splitgate 2 Cinematic Announcement Trailer

Gaming

Concord beginners guide: 5 tips to get started

A sniper from Concord leaping in the air.

Shooters have evolved to the point where simply having good aim isn't enough to dominate a match anymore. Games like Concord have all embraced the hero shooter genre and done away with the generic characters we played in games like the original Halos and Call of Dutys. Beyond learning the unique characters, there are the maps, modes, and little intricacies you have to pick up on to fully master the game. Jumping into Concord, you might think just finding your main and running games will be fine, but there's a bit more going on under the hood and systems that you will want to understand that the game isn't all that clear about. Let's get you ready to be the next best Freegunner in the galaxy with these tips and tricks.
Experiment with your characters

Concord has 16 Freegunners to pick from, which is a bit daunting. The developers did a great job making each one unique, but they are also not very well organized in terms of knowing which falls into which role. Unlike Overwatch, which clearly divides its roster into roles, you need to read and experiment with characters to understand how they fit into the flow of combat. Give each character a few runs to really test out, and ideally try them in different game modes as well. Some characters are far more useful in objective game types than in pure deathmatch types. Make sure you also don't just stick to one character you like and that's it. Each character can only be used on a team once, so if someone else picks them first, you'll be out of luck, but there are also two more strong reasons to have a small handful of characters you're comfortable with we'll get to later.