505 Games acquires stake in Starbreeze to value studio at $187m

505 Games parent company Digital Bros has purchased 2.67 per cent stock in Payday developer Starbreeze for $5m, valuing the firm at around $187m.

The publisher has also signed a 24 month extension to its previous agreement with the studio, which will see it provide $13.4m funding for the further development of Payday 2 and its expansions on PC and new-gen consoles. There will also be additional royalties of $1.4m for the development of Payday 2: Crimeware Edition

505 Games has also extended the duration of its exclusive publishing rights for the Payday franchise by an additional ten years to 2032.

“We’ve said that we’ll never stop making Payday and the board is extremely happy to see where the franchise is today," said Starbreeze chairman Michael Hjorth.

“The strategic partnership with 505 Games continues to strengthen us and the Payday investment alone doubles down on our previous spend. We will yet again see the Payday franchise being expanded with more heists, weapons, characters and even new game modes such as driving cars. Payday as a franchise is here to stay and with it we are building a solid financial foundation for the company for years to come."

Starbreeze CEO Bo Andersson Klint added: “With this investment I feel Digital Bros proves their long term belief in Starbreeze and in its brands. As the largest owner, it’s very reassuring to get another strong partner to support our future success.”