Starbreeze confirms Switch is getting an older version of Payday 2

The Payday 2 community on Reddit is in an uproar over confusion about which version of the game is coming to the Nintendo Switch later this month. The game’s publisher has just confirmed to Polygon that at least some of their fears are founded.

“Somebody who got the game early streamed it and the footage has a lot of information,” the original post stated. “The end of heists screens lack the speed up feature which means it’s below version 124. But here’s the strange thing ... at 1h 13m 16s, he steps outside and the billboards use the NEW texture which was added in version 131 ... so the graphics have been updated but the game itself has not. That’s odd. But at 1h 16m 44s he’s blinded by a flashbang and there is no flashbang present. This means there’s no flashbang update, which was update 124. There is no possible way the game is above version 124.”

The post was titled: “Please do not buy Payday 2 for Switch. It’s a severely outdated version. Do not support the developers!”

This led to some back and forth about which version of the game might be coming to the Nintendo Switch. “A post titled “Payday 2 Switch ‘Real fact’ is on the front page of /r/NintendoSwitch,” an update to the original post said. “They claim Payday 2 on Switch is at update 147. They are wrong. The proof they’ve provided says nowhere that the Switch is on update 147 and instead clearly states that the Switch is on the ‘Most Wanted’ update, which is version 117. They are flat out lying and making up information. I contacted the mods and no action was taken and I received no response.”

Polygon contacted Payday 2 publisher Starbreeze to figure out what was going on, and it clarified the situation.

“Payday 2 is releasing on Switch with content up to and including the ‘Most Wanted’ update, which is equivalent to the content released through mid-2017 on PC. PS4 and Xbox One received one additional update after that, the ‘Master Plan’ update, which released near the end of 2017,” Starbreeze told Polygon. “So Switch is one update behind other consoles, which are slightly behind PC.”

So yes, the Nintendo Switch version of the game will be the least-updated version of the game available, while the other consoles are closer to — but not caught up with — the PC version of the game. The game that will be offered on the Nintendo Switch will be equivalent to a version of the title that is close to a year old.

“The reasoning for the Switch content: we’re making continuous updates to a game that’s turning 5 years old this year, and to get the game out in early 2018 on Switch meant that our team had to go with the content ported and available at the time of console submission,” Starbreeze explained to Polygon. “The PS4 and Xbox One versions are now almost up to par with PC content, and Switch is close behind those versions. There are future content updates planned for Switch, as well.”

The team also released the following video about the Switch port last week, although it didn’t address any concerns regarding which version of the game would be coming to the console.

It’s unclear if these details will calm the community, but many on Reddit are expressing skepticism about the game being updated after launch.

“Can’t say I’m surprised at this point,” a post with over over 1,300 points stated. “Also, I don’t expect any patches for the Switch Version and nobody who buys it should either. Given their track Record, Overkill will most likely drop it like a hot potato just like the other console versions.”

Payday 2 will be released on the Nintendo Switch on Feb. 27 in the United States.