Krafton officially launched PUBG x PAYDAY — a crossover with Starbreeze Studios’ co-op heist shooter series. The release went live on May 13, 2026 and includes three big pillars: a new game mode, a $100,000 streamer contest, and a lineup of limited-time items.
This is arguably one of the boldest crossovers in PUBG’s history: a 100-player battle royale meets PAYDAY 2-style heist tactics. The pitch sounds questionable on paper, but Krafton are leaning into the unusual angle.
The new “PAYDAY” mode
The centerpiece is the PAYDAY mode. According to the devs, it’s a PvE/PvP hybrid with heist elements:
- Squads of 4 drop onto a dedicated map (a modified Erangel)
- Goal — complete a chain of heist objectives: crack a safe, haul money bags, reach extraction
- Alongside PvE tasks, PvP combat with other squads runs in parallel
- Winner — the squad that successfully extracts the most money in the time limit
The masks of Dallas, Chains, Hoxton, Wolf — iconic PAYDAY characters — are available as cosmetics.
”Stream the Heist” contest
In parallel, Krafton launched a streamer contest with a $100,000 prize pool. Rules are simple:
- The stream must feature PAYDAY mode gameplay
- Official campaign tags in the description
- Winners decided by a combination of views, watch time, and content quality
- The prize pool is distributed across the top-50 streamers
This is Krafton’s attempt to put PUBG back in the Twitch conversation after a noticeable drop in average viewers over the past year.
Themed items
Beyond masks, the store added:
- PAYDAY 2-style weapon skins — an AKM engraved “Crime.net,” an M416 “Cloaker”
- A “Heister” outfit (jumpsuit + vest)
- A “Pull the Mask” emote with the trademark animation
- A parachute with the PAYDAY logo
All items run until May 27, 2026, then leave the store and move to collectible status.
What it means for the PUBG meta
PAYDAY mode is an isolated queue that doesn’t affect classic BR. But the indirect effects:
- Players are testing new angles on the modified map — several locations are accessible for the first time
- Network load is up — Krafton warned about possible lag in the first days
- BattlEye anti-cheat will get a signature update in the first release week — standard practice for major content drops
What it means for cheat users
Any new PUBG mode is a window of elevated ban risk, especially for software tested only on classic BR. A few rules:
- 24-48 hours after the PAYDAY mode release — don’t run third-party software in any PUBG mode. BattlEye usually ships anti-cheat hotfixes alongside major content.
- On the PAYDAY map, ESP features may behave incorrectly — the modified Erangel has non-standard object setups, and cheats’ old offsets don’t pick up.
- Don’t run exotic aim features in your first PAYDAY session — the mode is hype-driven, streamers mass-report suspicious players, and Krafton reacts especially sharply in the first days.
- Our catalog for PUBG is on the PUBG page. All our developer teams have processed the PUBG x PAYDAY updates — watch the update statuses page.
Bottom line
PUBG x PAYDAY is the strangest and at the same time most interesting crossover of May. Krafton are trying to diversify PUBG’s content strategy after several years of the same formula, and PAYDAY mode is a real attempt. If you haven’t logged into PUBG in a while — now’s a good moment to try the new mode, test the themed items, and watch whether the crossover survives past the first two weeks.
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