The Game Census
PAYDAY™ The Heist cover art

PAYDAY™ The Heist

OVERKILL - a Starbreeze Studio. · Starbreeze Entertainment · 2011-10-20

Steam

Action

Modes: Single player, Multiplayer, Co-operative · Perspectives: First person

Releases: Nov 02, 2011 (PlayStation 3), Oct 20, 2011 (PC (Microsoft Windows))

Take on the role of a hardened career criminal executing intense, dynamic heists in constant pursuit of the next “big score”

PAYDAY™ The Heist is an Action game released in 2011, priced at $9.99, with an estimated 2,000,000 to 5,000,000 owners and a Very Positive review sentiment (93% of 41,007 reviews).

23
playing now
93%
positive of 41k reviews
Very Positive
steam's rating (official)
2,000,000–5,000,000
owners (SteamSpy est.)
73/100
critic score (4 outlets, IGDB)
70/100
IGDB user rating (146 ratings)
6
Nexus mods (1.0k downloads)
20h
time to beat (IGDB)
platinum
deck/linux tier (ProtonDB)
Playable
Steam Deck (Valve)
SteamOS: Playable
$9.99
steam price (US)

23 players in-game as of 2026-10-14 10:00 UTC (census sample)

Payday: The Heist is a cooperative first-person shooter game developed by Overkill Software and published by Sony Online Entertainment. The game was released for the PlayStation 3 in North America on 18 October 2011, and in Europe on 2 November. It was released then for Windows on 20 October. It is the first game in the Payday series.

Trailer

PAYDAY™ The Heist trailer thumbnail

Payday The Heist - FULL GAME (4K 60FPS) Walkthrough Gameplay No Commentary | Hard Difficulty

≈66 YouTube results for this game's trailer search

Health check

Healthy
  • · 23 players in-game at the last census sample.
  • · 500 reviews in the last 8 weeks (~63/week).
  • · Review velocity down 29% vs the prior 8 weeks.
  • · Top 2% of 27,536 Action games in the census by review count.
Estimated sales: 1.6M–3.3M copies

Review-multiple estimate from 41,007 total reviews — how this is computed.

All-time low: $1.49 at Steam (2014-06-21)via IsThereAnyDeal

12-month high $14.99 · on sale 49 of 61 observed days (census price snapshots)

Review momentum

PositiveNegative
23723720182026Week of 2018-01-01: 117 positiveWeek of 2018-01-01: 22 negativeWeek of 2018-02-01: 66 positiveWeek of 2018-02-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-03-01: 76 positiveWeek of 2018-03-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2018-04-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2018-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-05-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2018-05-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2018-06-01: 108 positiveWeek of 2018-06-01: 12 negativeWeek of 2018-07-01: 72 positiveWeek of 2018-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-08-01: 95 positiveWeek of 2018-08-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2018-09-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2018-09-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2018-10-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2018-10-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2018-11-01: 106 positiveWeek of 2018-11-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2018-12-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2018-12-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2019-01-01: 31 positiveWeek of 2019-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2019-02-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2019-02-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-03-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2019-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2019-04-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-05-01: 27 positiveWeek of 2019-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-06-01: 83 positiveWeek of 2019-06-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2019-07-01: 92 positiveWeek of 2019-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2019-08-01: 22 positiveWeek of 2019-08-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-09-01: 13 positiveWeek of 2019-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-10-01: 23 positiveWeek of 2019-10-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2019-11-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2019-11-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2019-12-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2019-12-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2020-01-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2020-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-02-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2020-02-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-03-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2020-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-04-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2020-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2020-05-01: 55 positiveWeek of 2020-05-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2020-06-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2020-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-07-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2020-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2020-08-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2020-08-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2020-09-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2020-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2020-10-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2020-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2020-11-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2020-11-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2020-12-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 49 positiveWeek of 2021-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-02-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2021-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-03-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2021-03-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2021-04-01: 47 positiveWeek of 2021-04-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-05-01: 66 positiveWeek of 2021-05-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2021-06-01: 112 positiveWeek of 2021-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2021-07-01: 202 positiveWeek of 2021-07-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2021-08-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2021-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-09-01: 57 positiveWeek of 2021-09-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2021-10-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2021-10-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2021-11-01: 95 positiveWeek of 2021-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2021-12-01: 117 positiveWeek of 2021-12-01: 13 negativeWeek of 2022-01-01: 122 positiveWeek of 2022-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-02-01: 58 positiveWeek of 2022-02-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-03-01: 56 positiveWeek of 2022-03-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-04-01: 54 positiveWeek of 2022-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2022-05-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2022-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2022-06-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2022-06-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-07-01: 143 positiveWeek of 2022-07-01: 11 negativeWeek of 2022-08-01: 94 positiveWeek of 2022-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2022-09-01: 52 positiveWeek of 2022-09-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-10-01: 37 positiveWeek of 2022-10-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-11-01: 118 positiveWeek of 2022-11-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2022-12-01: 136 positiveWeek of 2022-12-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2023-01-01: 137 positiveWeek of 2023-01-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2023-02-01: 63 positiveWeek of 2023-02-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2023-03-01: 104 positiveWeek of 2023-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2023-04-01: 65 positiveWeek of 2023-04-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2023-05-01: 68 positiveWeek of 2023-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2023-06-01: 109 positiveWeek of 2023-06-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-07-01: 237 positiveWeek of 2023-07-01: 16 negativeWeek of 2023-08-01: 107 positiveWeek of 2023-08-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2023-09-01: 105 positiveWeek of 2023-09-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2023-10-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2023-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2023-11-01: 72 positiveWeek of 2023-11-01: 8 negativeWeek of 2023-12-01: 101 positiveWeek of 2023-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-01-01: 96 positiveWeek of 2024-01-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2024-02-01: 38 positiveWeek of 2024-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2024-03-01: 44 positiveWeek of 2024-03-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-04-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2024-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-05-01: 43 positiveWeek of 2024-05-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-06-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2024-06-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-07-01: 140 positiveWeek of 2024-07-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2024-08-01: 56 positiveWeek of 2024-08-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2024-09-01: 36 positiveWeek of 2024-09-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2024-10-01: 30 positiveWeek of 2024-10-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2024-11-01: 34 positiveWeek of 2024-11-01: 2 negativeWeek of 2024-12-01: 94 positiveWeek of 2024-12-01: 5 negativeWeek of 2025-01-01: 75 positiveWeek of 2025-01-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-02-01: 45 positiveWeek of 2025-02-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-03-01: 77 positiveWeek of 2025-03-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-04-01: 40 positiveWeek of 2025-04-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2025-05-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2025-05-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2025-06-01: 134 positiveWeek of 2025-06-01: 14 negativeWeek of 2025-07-01: 90 positiveWeek of 2025-07-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-08-01: 119 positiveWeek of 2025-08-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2025-09-01: 76 positiveWeek of 2025-09-01: 15 negativeWeek of 2025-10-01: 78 positiveWeek of 2025-10-01: 10 negativeWeek of 2025-11-01: 62 positiveWeek of 2025-11-01: 9 negativeWeek of 2025-12-01: 53 positiveWeek of 2025-12-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-01-01: 71 positiveWeek of 2026-01-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-02-01: 42 positiveWeek of 2026-02-01: 3 negativeWeek of 2026-03-01: 50 positiveWeek of 2026-03-01: 6 negativeWeek of 2026-04-01: 39 positiveWeek of 2026-04-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-05-01: 59 positiveWeek of 2026-05-01: 7 negativeWeek of 2026-06-01: 87 positiveWeek of 2026-06-01: 4 negativeWeek of 2026-07-01: 67 positiveWeek of 2026-07-01: 1 negativeWeek of 2026-08-01: 46 positiveWeek of 2026-08-01: 5 negative
Weekly review counts (Steam review histogram). Positive above the line, negative below.

Players online

74172026-09-14 20:00 — 65 players2026-09-16 04:00 — 24 players2026-09-17 11:00 — 44 players2026-09-18 19:00 — 62 players2026-09-20 02:00 — 35 players2026-09-21 10:00 — 30 players2026-09-22 18:00 — 53 players2026-09-24 01:00 — 38 players2026-09-25 09:00 — 23 players2026-09-26 16:00 — 63 players2026-09-28 00:00 — 45 players2026-09-29 07:00 — 17 players2026-09-30 15:00 — 40 players2026-10-01 22:00 — 55 players2026-10-03 06:00 — 42 players2026-10-04 14:00 — 56 players2026-10-05 21:00 — 57 players2026-10-07 05:00 — 21 players2026-10-08 12:00 — 28 players2026-10-09 20:00 — 46 players2026-10-11 03:00 — 51 players2026-10-12 11:00 — 24 players2026-10-13 19:00 — 51 players2026-10-14 10:00 — 23 players
Concurrent players, hourly average, last 30 days (census samples).
4.8k26Jul 2012Aug 2026Jul 2012 — avg 1,574 · peak 3,608Dec 2012 — avg 755 · peak 4,026May 2013 — avg 1,033 · peak 5,561Oct 2013 — avg 170 · peak 399Mar 2014 — avg 281 · peak 1,109Aug 2014 — avg 301 · peak 740Jan 2015 — avg 489 · peak 1,095Jun 2015 — avg 260 · peak 483Nov 2015 — avg 381 · peak 1,283Apr 2016 — avg 178 · peak 414Sep 2016 — avg 151 · peak 409Feb 2017 — avg 225 · peak 923Jul 2017 — avg 93 · peak 170Dec 2017 — avg 107 · peak 253May 2018 — avg 77 · peak 192Oct 2018 — avg 49 · peak 115Mar 2019 — avg 43 · peak 106Aug 2019 — avg 41 · peak 80Jan 2020 — avg 44 · peak 113Jun 2020 — avg 38 · peak 80Nov 2020 — avg 34 · peak 70Apr 2021 — avg 35 · peak 98Sep 2021 — avg 35 · peak 86Feb 2022 — avg 38 · peak 99Jul 2022 — avg 67 · peak 195Dec 2022 — avg 62 · peak 169May 2023 — avg 33 · peak 102Oct 2023 — avg 39 · peak 90Mar 2024 — avg 30 · peak 65Aug 2024 — avg 34 · peak 80Jan 2025 — avg 49 · peak 145Jun 2025 — avg 60 · peak 159Nov 2025 — avg 38 · peak 108Apr 2026 — avg 34 · peak 74Aug 2026 — avg 36 · peak 72
Monthly average players (source: steamcharts.com) — history via steamcharts.com; live census sampling since Aug 2026.

Price history

$23.31$1.492015-01-012026-08-122015-01-01 — best price $3.742015-01-24 — best price $19.042015-06-11 — best price $7.492015-10-24 — best price $14.992015-12-22 — best price $1.492016-03-31 — best price $14.992016-10-07 — best price $3.742017-01-02 — best price $14.992017-10-19 — best price $3.742018-01-04 — best price $14.992018-06-22 — best price $2.992019-07-09 — best price $14.992021-04-28 — best price $7.492021-11-01 — best price $14.992022-01-27 — best price $7.492022-05-30 — best price $14.992022-10-26 — best price $7.492023-01-05 — best price $14.992023-12-21 — best price $1.492024-09-28 — best price $14.992025-01-02 — best price $14.992025-05-06 — best price $13.492025-07-31 — best price $1.492025-09-25 — best price $1.942025-11-02 — best price $12.152025-11-24 — best price $4.952025-12-05 — best price $14.992026-01-05 — best price $14.992026-01-29 — best price $14.992026-02-17 — best price $4.212026-03-04 — best price $12.592026-04-13 — best price $4.202026-05-09 — best price $9.992026-06-18 — best price $3.292026-07-16 — best price $12.152026-07-26 — best price $9.992026-08-12 — best price $9.99
Lowest recorded price across tracked stores, per day (census snapshots).

Attention

176552026-06-02 — 58 pageviews2026-06-06 — 65 pageviews2026-06-10 — 65 pageviews2026-06-14 — 70 pageviews2026-06-18 — 97 pageviews2026-06-22 — 80 pageviews2026-06-26 — 149 pageviews2026-06-30 — 108 pageviews2026-07-04 — 90 pageviews2026-07-08 — 86 pageviews2026-07-12 — 66 pageviews2026-07-16 — 98 pageviews2026-07-20 — 64 pageviews2026-07-24 — 98 pageviews2026-07-28 — 96 pageviews2026-08-01 — 63 pageviews2026-08-05 — 73 pageviews2026-08-09 — 67 pageviews2026-08-13 — 77 pageviews2026-08-17 — 72 pageviews2026-08-21 — 95 pageviews2026-08-25 — 82 pageviews2026-08-29 — 92 pageviews2026-09-02 — 74 pageviews2026-09-06 — 87 pageviews2026-09-10 — 87 pageviews2026-09-14 — 77 pageviews2026-09-18 — 70 pageviews2026-09-22 — 109 pageviews2026-09-26 — 78 pageviews2026-09-30 — 81 pageviews2026-10-04 — 75 pageviews2026-10-08 — 72 pageviews2026-10-12 — 67 pageviews
Daily Wikipedia pageviews (attention proxy, census-recorded).

Completion

56
achievements tracked
78%
earned "I ain't afraid no more"
4.2%
median achievement earned by

Global achievement rates from Steam.

Details

WindowsSingle-playerMulti-playerCo-opOnline Co-opSteam AchievementsSteam Trading CardsCustom Volume ControlsAdjustable DifficultyStereo SoundSteam Cloud2 DLC

4 supported languages: English, French, German, Italian

Post-launch support: 2 DLC released, first 2012-08-07, latest 2012-10-18 (Steam store data)

Where its players are

Share of Steam reviews by language (top languages measured) — a proxy for where the player base lives.

Player tags

FPSCo-opCrimeHeistActionShooterStealthStrategyTacticalDifficult

Census log

Computed from census-recorded observations only — dates are observation dates.

Recent updates

Players also track

Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood™Rogue WarriorPAYDAY 2Aarklash: LegacyEnemy FrontGET EVENZigguratRise of the Tomb Raider™

Similarity via IGDB.

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