Overkill Software announced earlier this week that VR support will be coming to the venerable heist-shooter Payday 2 later this year. What's also on the way, and a whole lot sooner, is the Payday 2 Ultimate Edition, which will include the base game and all DLC released so far. Even better, the studio said that all future Payday 2 updates will be free for everyone.
In the leadup to the release of the Ultimate Edition, Payday 2 DLC has been put on sale for 85 percent off, and will remain at those prices until it comes out. At that point, it will all be consolidated into the Ultimate Edition, and will no longer be available for purchase separately. The Ultimate Edition will cost $45, which Overkill said is substantially cheaper than buying everything separately, and an upgrade option will also be available, with pricing based on how much DLC the player already owns.
Overkill said the idea is to make it easier for new players to get into Payday 2 by doing away with the need to buy roughly 40 separate things to get the full package. It also said that the new edition does not indicate that Payday 2 support is coming to an end. "We’ve actually decided to support Payday 2 even longer than originally planned," the studio wrote in an Ultimate Edition FAQ. "Previously we announced that we were going to stop at the end of 2017. But now we’ve extended development until October 2018."
The only exceptions will be the timed exclusive Completely Overkill Pack, and the "Ethan and Hila Character Pack," which Overkill is using to raise funds for Ethan and Hila Klein of YouTube channel H3H3Productions. As they explain in this video, they're being sued for copyright infringement by another YouTuber, Matt "Bold Guy" Hosseinzadeh, and the legal bills are piling up.
"We’ll be selling The Ethan and Hila Character Pack for $4.99, and the subsequent revenue from the Ethan and Hila Character Pack is going straight to Ethan and Hila themselves, and we at Overkill get 0%," the studio explained. "We understand, respect and appreciate the privileged situation our community has helped us create as independent game developers. We want to help Ethan and Hila to do the same, just like we want to help other independent game developers get their games out the door while having them retain their own IP."
The Payday 2 Ultimate Edition will be out on June 8. Full details are available at overkillsoftware.com.
