STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN 10th August 2026 Starbreeze Entertainment, the studio behind the legendary PAYDAY franchise with over 50 million players worldwide, today announces the launch of ‘HEIST ESCAPE ROGUELIKE: PAYDAY EXPERIENCE’ a native Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) game. Developed and published with the Stockholm-based creative team OceanWave Games (operating as OCWG), ‘HEIST ESCAPE ROGUELIKE’ brings a fresh interpretation of heisting to a new generation of players within the Fortnite ecosystem, one of the world’s largest gaming ecosystems.
A NEW ROGUELIKE HEIST VISION
‘HEIST ESCAPE ROGUELIKE: PAYDAY EXPERIENCE’ reimagines elements of PAYDAY as a progressive roguelike shooter built entirely within UEFN. Players will navigate a persistent meta-progression system where every run presents a new challenge.
The experience features three core heists at launch:
Jewelry Store: Descend through six floors of high-security chaos, fighting floor-by-floor to shatter the glass and vanish with the crown jewels before the building becomes your tomb.
The Bank: Infiltrate a shifting labyrinth of lethal corridors and reinforced checkpoints, where one wrong turn separates you from the ultimate score inside the impenetrable main vault.
The Harbor: Launch a high-octane assault on the coastal docks to seize the illicit cargo before executing a desperate, bullet-riddled escape on a luxury yacht.
Each heist consists of many unique rooms, ensuring endless replayability and a low margin for error. The game incorporates native PAYDAY elements, including iconic masks, music, voices, and custom NPCs to bring the world to life.
EMPOWERING THE CREATORS OF TOMORROW
The partnership with OCWG represents Starbreeze’s commitment to a “Creator First” approach. Based in Sweden, OCWG is an experienced team of UEFN natives tasked with interpreting the PAYDAY IP’s iconic characters into a UEFN experience for the Fortnite platform in the best way possible.
“It’s exciting to see what OCWG has built, it is a testament to how we’re evolving,” said Matt Dixon, Chief Growth Officer at Starbreeze. “We recognize that today’s audiences are discovering legendary IPs in entirely new ways. Integrating PAYDAY into the Fortnite ecosystem through UEFN is a cornerstone of our strategy to engage new players and welcome them into the broader PAYDAY platform.”
“Working with Starbreeze has been a great experience for our team” said Leo Linderoth, Creative Director at OCWG. “They trusted us to bring our own ideas to the game using the legendary PAYDAY IP and explore how it could work within Fortnite. That freedom made the collaboration feel genuine, and we’re proud of what we’ve created together.”
TECHNICAL INNOVATION AND META-PROGRESSION
‘HEIST ESCAPE ROGUELIKE: PAYDAY EXPERIENCE’ is designed for long-term engagement, featuring:
Permadeath Runs: High-stakes gameplay where a single mistake can end a heist.
Persistent Meta: Players earn rewards and progress through a deep upgrade system that carries over between runs.
Native Integration: Optimized performance at scale, utilizing custom tools built for the UEFN platform.
The experience is available now in Fortnite. Players can join the crew by entering the Island Code: 8105-9005-4478.
This is an independently created Fortnite island and is not sponsored, endorsed, or administered by Epic Games, Inc.
About OceanWame Games (OCWG)
What began in 2024 as three friends united by a passion for gaming quickly evolved into a creative studio dedicated to building memorable UEFN experiences that bring players together. Today, OceanWave Games (OCWG) has amassed 700,000 followers, published more than 30 games and achieved over 50 million lifetime visits. Our portfolio includes one of the largest tycoon experiences in the Fortnite ecosystem, one of the biggest creator-made concerts on the platform, and one of the largest The Walking Dead Universe experiences available in Fortnite. We have collaborated with studios worldwide, worked with Sony Music and Nina Chuba’s team, and earned premium placement for our experiences on the Fortnite Platform.
About PAYDAY®
PAYDAY is Starbreeze’s flagship co-op heisting franchise, spanning PC and console games with a global community. It is one of the world’s most recognized co-op heisting experiences, having engaged more than 50 million players and generated more than $400 million in lifetime gross revenue.
With the franchise at the core of Starbreeze’s strategy, PAYDAY continues to evolve through new content and live engagement, partnerships, and licensing that expand the universe to new audiences and formats. PAYDAY is a registered trademark of Starbreeze AB (publ).
About Starbreeze Entertainment
Starbreeze is an independent developer, publisher, and distributor of video games targeting the global market. Housing the smash hit IP PAYDAY, Starbreeze develops games based on proprietary and third-party rights, both in-house and in partnership with external game developers. Starbreeze shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under the tickers STAR A and STAR B. For more information, please visit www.starbreeze.com
