Payday 2 gets major engine upgrade with 64-bit and DX11, halves install size

Sidetrack Games, which took over Payday 2 in 2025, has announced a major engine overhaul. The update ports the game to 64-bit, adds DirectX 11 rendering to reduce VRAM usage, and should eliminate long-running out-of-memory crashes. The install size will fall from 86GB to 32GB.

Sidetrack warned that "sadly, it's inevitable that some mods will break." The studio asked modders to "repair what can be repaired" during an open beta and said "we will be there to help out with new file formats where we can." The beta runs from June 30 to the end of July and will be open to everyone; further details will be posted on the 30th.

The overhaul arrives after Starbreeze handed Payday 2 to Sidetrack so it could focus on Payday 3. Payday 2 remains popular on Steam while Payday 3 has far fewer players, and Starbreeze has pursued crossovers with PUBG and Roblox and launched peer-to-peer support—moves that have prompted questions about whether to keep maintaining dedicated servers.

payday 2, sidetrack games, starbreeze, 64-bit, directx 11, vram, install size, mods, open beta, payday 3