When Can You Play Payday 3 On Xbox Game Pass? (Unlock Times & Regions)

Posted by Almeda Bohannan on Tuesday, May 7, 2024

The cooperative heist series is making its return with Payday 3, and Game Pass subscribers on Xbox and PC can play right when it’s released.

The imminent release of Payday 3 on September 21, 2023 will see the game launching day one on Game Pass. Xbox's popular subscription service now has a bona fide rival in PlayStation Plus, since Sony's Extra and Premium subscription tiers offer a similarly expansive library of games. Payday 3, however, won't be coming to PS+ on day one, even though the game will be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. As has become increasingly popular, Game Pass subscribers should be able to play Payday 3 as soon as it becomes available digitally.

Payday 3 is the decade-in-the-making sequel to 2013's Payday 2, and looks to be building on its predecessor's cooperative bank-robbing gameplay. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Payday 3 is adopting a live-service model in order to deliver post-launch support. This unfortunately comes with Payday 3 requiring an internet connection – a double-edged sword that delivers cross-progression functionality to a game centered on its online co-op, but is unplayable offline. Payday 3 bears a comparatively modest price of $40 at launch, though Game Pass subscribers will be able to try the game at no additional cost.

Payday 3 Release Times By Time Zone

For now, Payday 3's release time comes by way of its PlayStation Store listing. While it's technically unconfirmed that it will unlock on Game Pass at the exact same time, since developer Starbreeze Studios is third-party (not affiliated with Xbox or PlayStation), there's no reason to believe there will be separate release times. The table below has Payday 3's release time listed for various time zones.

Time Zone

Release/Unlock Time

Pacific Daylight Time (PDT)

8:00 AM, September 21

Mountain Daylight Time (MDT)

9:00 AM, September 21

Central Daylight Time (CDT)

10:00 AM, September 21

Eastern Daylight Time (EDT)

11:00 AM, September 21

Brasilia Time (BRT)

12:00 PM, September 21

British Summer Time (BST)

4:00 PM, September 21

Central European Summer Time (CEST)

5:00 PM, September 21

Arabia Standard Time (AST)

6:00 PM, September 21

Indian Standard Time (IST)

8:30 PM, September 21

China Standard Time (CST) & Hong Kong Time (HKT)

11:00 PM, September 21

Japan Standard Time (JST)

12:00 AM, September 22

Australian Western Standard Time (AWST)

11:00 PM, September 21

Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST)

1:00 AM, September 22

New Zealand Standard Time (NZST)

2:00 AM, September 22

Payday 3's Open Beta Is Coming To Xbox & PC, But Not PlayStation

While Payday 3's day one release onto Game Pass is certainly a major benefit to those on Xbox and PC, Microsoft's consoles also have priority when it comes to Payday 3's open beta. From September 8 to September 11, the game's servers will be stress tested in an open beta on Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam. The beta will feature only one heist, called "No Rest for the Wicked." All the game's difficulties will be playable for the one heist, but player progression is capped at Infamy Level 22, and individual weapons can't reach levels beyond eight.

Serving as something of a demo, the open beta will give players an opportunity to try out Payday 3 before its release and see if it might be worth the $40 admission fee. Game Pass subscribers on Xbox and PC, however, will have no such dilemma. Day one releases onto the service have become increasingly common, and Payday 3's may help the game build a substantial playerbase in the early days of its live-service venture.

Source: PlayStation Store

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