Starbreeze profits slide as studio moves away from PayDay

PayDay 2 developer Starbreeze took a financial hit last year as it prepared for a 2016 of expansion.

The Swedish outlet has been buffered over the last few years by the continued popularity of its flagship crime shooter, with CEO Bo Andersson expressing its “solid track record of profitable growth with one single franchise".

Starbreeze’s net sales hit SEK 48.9 million (£4.13m) in Q2, a jump of just three per cent on the previous year. Of that figure, PayDay 2 alone contributed SEK 47.7 million (£4.03m) – a proportion that has remained largely the same during its lifetime.

Despite this, quarterly profit fell from SEK 20.4 million (£1.72m) to SEK 14 million (£1.18m), as the result of big investments – available cash similarly dropped from SEK 184.4 million (£15.57m) to SEK 85.4 million (£7.21m).

Meanwhile, cash flow turned red, down to negative SEK three million (£0.25m) from SEK 19 million (£1.6m) the year before.

Korean firm Smilegate recently invested $40 million (£28.89m) in Starbreeze, leading Andersson to proclaim: “Starbreeze will have a liquidity that stands out industry wide."

2016 will see Starbreeze self-publish its first title, as well as open its VR arcade, Project StarCade, this summer.