Starbreeze CEO Tobias Sjögren has left the studio as the company looks for “different leadership”.
In a press release shared online on March 12 (via Game developer), the Payday 3 developer announced that after three years as CEO, Tobias Sjogren will resign his position. Board member Juergen Goeldner will take on the interim role of CEO while the company looks for a permanent solution.
“The company has a clear strategy, focused on creating compelling games on our owned and licensed IPs,” said Torgny Hellström, Chairman of Starbreeze. “The consolidated assessment of the board is that the implementation of the strategy requires different leadership. Juergen Goeldner has been part of the board since 2023 and, with more than 40 years of experience in the sector, is a strong interim solution.”
Starbreeze noted that Sjögren will be available at the studio for a smooth transition and thanked the now former CEO for his work over the past three years.
“Tobias took the helm of Starbreeze at a challenging stage in his journey and we wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors,” continued Hellström.
Goeldner also shared a statement saying this after the launch Payday 3 “The company is well positioned to leverage the strengths of the organization to monetize and develop the IP portfolio” and “looks forward to taking an operative position and, together with management, the execution of this strategy.”
although Payday 3 wasn’t mentioned in connection with Sjögren’s departure, it’s hard not to connect the two considering the game’s disastrous launch just six months ago.
Payday 3 launched in September and encountered issues with server instability and matchmaking issues across all platforms. The issues were so bad that the game had to be taken offline temporarily to be resolved. After weeks of waiting for the first major update, some issues still persisted, and it wasn’t until November that Starbreeze addressed the concerns and shared its plans for the game’s future.
Last month, Sjögren finally shared a statement on the game’s situation, revealing that while the game’s sales and player activity is “currently at a significantly lower level than we would like,” it is an “absolute priority” to make sure ensure that it “meets expectations”. ”
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