“After all these years, the PAYDAY 2 community is still growing”

For those who don’t know you already, can you tell us who you are?

My name is Harry, but I’m better known online as TheKknowley. I’ve been creating content for PAYDAY 2 since the 2013 beta version. I’ve spent thousands of hours on the game, but I’m probably best known for creating the Story of Payday series which culminated in a four-hour video explaining the brilliant story behind the game!

Why do you play PAYDAY?

The reason I play today is very different from the reason why I started playing almost ten years ago. I was initially drawn to the cool esthetics, unique characters and opportunities to collaborate. These days, what really keeps me hooked is the seemingly endless ways to play through the game and all the new challenges the game continues to offer with each new update.

How do you collaborate with Starbreeze today?

I’ve been lucky to receive support from Starbreeze since 2014 when some of the first content creator initiatives were launched. I will never forget the day my name was immortalized in the game on a billboard in the “The Diamond” heist. I now have an even more active relationship with many members of the team, who have been directly instrumental in helping me complete my more “research-heavy” video projects! And of course, I can always count on support from the developers when discussing my content on social media – especially from PAYDAY Twitter Man!

What is it with PAYDAY Twitter Man?

We stick together like birds of a feather! I recently asked how the world would be without PAYDAY Twitter Man. The consensus was that it would be “a much darker place”. I tend to agree.

For those who don’t know, who is PAYDAY Twitter Man?

He’s not just a ray of sunshine on social media, he’s also the heart of PAYDAY’s online community. His role is to spread the PAYDAY gospel by sharing content from across the internet and adding weight to the voices of PAYDAY creators on Twitter!

In 2023, PAYDAY 2 will enter its 10th year. What do you think makes the game still so successful among the player base?

PAYDAY 2 is quite simply a timeless title. Everything that was good about the game in 2013 is still good today. It’s one of the few games out there that has a game structure that upstages all the technological advances made by the gaming industry as a whole over the years. Heisting will always be fun. Flying helmets will always go over big and the characters will always be iconic. We’re also lucky to have a team of developers that has supported the game with consistent updates over the years, and I should also mention our highly talented modding community, which I imagine will be coming up with new stuff for another decade to come!

Starbreeze’s launch of Starbreeze Nebula raises the level of ambition for the member platform. How would you like to see the platform evolve?

So far, the addition of Twitch Drops to the account system has been brilliant for both streamers and viewers. I would like to see this expand. Of course, I would also love to see the platform evolve into an engine that brings PAYDAY into the cross-play world, and finally brings PC heisters and console heisters together!

What’s the mood like in the PAYDAY community these days and what are people talking about?

It’s hard to believe, but after all these years the PAYDAY community is still growing and I have felt the excitement building since 2019. PAYDAY 3 has just been a whisper for as long as I can remember, but now it’s temptingly close and we can’t wait to see more of it!

Finally, the elephant in the room, PAYDAY 3. It will be released in 2023. How excited are you, based on what you already know?

At the moment I know just enough to start speculating about the game, but not enough to allow me to speculate wildly about anything I want to. Can it get more exciting than that? Let’s see what the teaser trailer does to me.