You may have missed that as part of the Xbox Games Showcase 2023, Payday 3 was announced as coming to Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S on September 21st - included as part of Xbox Game Pass!
Following that reveal, we've been treated to our first developer diary on YouTube giving us a bit more information about what to expect from the game. It's been confirmed that Payday 3 will take place in New York City this time around, and the "biggest change" compared to Payday 2 is apparently "how the heist experience has evolved".
"In Payday 2, you have Stealth and then you have Loud, which is pretty binary, and that's something that we really wanted to flesh out and evolve. So, in Payday 3 you have Stealth, then you have something that we call Search, which essentially is - guards are looking for you, and they're suspicious.
And then you have something really interesting which is called Negotiations. So, first responders arrive to the scene, and if you have hostages, you can start trading them to buy time before the cops get in. Or, you can save the hostages for later because you can trade them for resources."
Something that's also been confirmed about Payday 3's arrival on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S is that the console and PC versions will be the same, so we should get an identical experience across Xbox and PC Game Pass. Both cross-play and cross-progression will also be available from day one.
It's sounding like a great addition to Microsoft's subscription service, then, especially considering it's already one of the most highly wishlisted titles on Steam! Just a few more months to wait...