Overkill Software

Overkill Software
Subsidiary of Starbreeze Studios
Industry Software
Interactive entertainment
Founded Stockholm, Sweden (2009)
Founder Ulf Andersson
Bo Andersson
Simon Viklund
Headquarters Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 Ulf Andersson
Bo Andersson
Products Payday: The Heist
Payday 2
Number of employees
 75 (2015)[1]
Parent Starbreeze Studios
Website www.overkillsoftware.com

Overkill Software is a video game developer founded in 2009 in Stockholm, Sweden by Ulf Andersson, Bo Andersson and Simon Viklund, formerly founders and owners of Grin. In 2012, Swedish game studio Starbreeze Studios bought Overkill. Starbreeze co-developed Overkill's sci-fi co-op game Storm.

History

Overkill's Payday: The Heist was a success for both PC and the PlayStation Network,[2] which led to a sequel Payday 2. In March 2013, Payday 2 was previewed by critics.[3] The game initially had about 17 missions while its predecessor had only 6 missions and 3 DLC missions, these missions are referred to as heists in-game and by the community. Animations, tactics, masks and reward systems were also added to Payday 2, though the graphics and core mechanics stayed the same as the first game. The company was acquired by Starbreeze Studios on April 19, 2012.[4]

Former Battlefield 3 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 lead designer David Goldfarb was the lead designer and game director for Payday 2.[5] In 2014 he left Overkill to start his own studio.[6]

On May 4, 2015, creative director and co-founder Ulf Andersson left Overkill studios for specified reasons. Ulf will remain as a consultant to the board and management team for the next 24 months.[7]

On August 18, 2015, sound designer and composer Simon Viklund left Overkill to focus on his solo music project. However, he continues to voice Bain in Payday 2 as a freelancer and continues to produce music for Payday 2 also as a freelance.[8]

On October 15, 2015, the annual event known as Crimefest took place, launching a micro-transaction system similar to Counter Strike: Global Offensive. Because Overkill had previously stated unequivocally that the game would never have microtransactions, this update was received with overwhelmingly negative feelings amongst the players in the PAYDAY 2 community.[9][10] On May 30, 2016 Starbreeze Studios, the parent company of Overkill, announced that they have reacquired the rights to the PAYDAY franchise. They then announced that future safes would be completely free to open. Almir Listo then added a quote from Chains, a playable character in the game, saying, "As Chains eloquently put it, 'Fuck that broke dick piece of shit drill.'"[11]

Games

Title Year Genre Platform Source
Payday: The Heist 2011 First-person shooter Windows, PlayStation 3 (PSN) [12]
Payday 2 2013 First-person shooter Windows, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Linux [13]
Overkill's The Walking Dead 2017[14] First-person shooter Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One [15]
Storm 2017[16] First-person shooter Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One [17]
Payday 3 TBA First-person shooter Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One [11]

References

  1. ↑ Klepek, Patrick (26 October 2015). "Payday 2's Microtransaction Nightmare Just Got Worse". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
  2. ↑ "Payday: The Heist for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2013-11-14.
  3. ↑ Biessener, Adam (2013-03-12). "Payday 2: Setting Up A Bigger Heist". gameinformer.com. Game Informer. Retrieved 2013-03-21.
  4. ↑ O'Connor, Alice (April 19, 2012). "Starbreeze acquiring Payday dev Overkill". Shacknews. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  5. ↑ Goldfarb, David. "Linkedin David Goldfarb". linkedin.com. Retrieved Oct 4, 2013.
  6. ↑ Gera, Emily (14 July 2014). "Payday 2 lead leaves AAA to start indie studio". Polygon. Vox Media. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  7. ↑ "Ulf Andersson Leaving Starbreeze". Starbreeze. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ https://www.pixeldynamo.com/news/gaming/2015/08/18/77113/simon-viklund-leaves-overkill-heists/
  9. ↑ "Payday 2 Gets Microtransactions Despite Devs Saying It Wouldn't". PCgamer. Retrieved November 30, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Payday 2 Won't Have Microtransactions". GameStop. Retrieved May 14, 2016.
  11. 1 2 "Payday 3 Confirmed, Microtransactions Eliminated as Starbreeze Buys Franchise Rights". GameSpot. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  12. ↑ Narcisse, Evan (May 21, 2015). "Payday: The Heist Developers Confirm That They're Working With Valve on Left 4 Dead Crossover". Kotaku. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  13. ↑ Karmali, Luke (August 6, 2013). "Payday 2 release date announced". IGN. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Overkill's 'The Walking Dead' Delayed to 2017 - Bloody Disgusting!". Bloody Disgusting!. Retrieved 2016-01-24.
  15. ↑ Peeples, Jeremy (April 29, 2015). "505 Games Announces Publishing Deal for Overkill's The Walking Dead". Hardcore Gamer. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Storm - OVERKILL Software Website".
  17. ↑ Savage, Phil (January 21, 2013). "Syndicate devs developing Storm, a co-op sci-fi FPS". PC Gamer. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
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