PUBG's collaboration with PAYDAY introduces a co-op PvE heist mode where you plan, infiltrate, and loot.
You ever drop into Erangel and think, “Man, I wish I could just rob a bank with a clown mask”? Well, Krafton heard you. Back in May 2026, PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDS dropped a collaboration with Starbreeze that nobody saw coming—a full-blown PvE heist mode straight out of PAYDAY. And let me tell you, it’s the most fun I’ve had on the Battlegrounds since the frying pan got its first buff.
The mode is called PAYDAY, and it’s a co-op PvE experience for up to four players. No circle, no blue zone, no random bush wookie with a Kar98—just you, your crew, and a high-stakes objective. You plan, infiltrate, grab the loot, and get the hell out. Sound simple? Well, there’s a reason they call it a heist and not a picnic.
How it plays (and how I blew my first attempt)
Every round follows a structured flow: Preparation → Infiltration → Objective Completion → Loot Securing → Survival & Escape. It’s like a movie script, but one that can go off the rails fast.
First, you and your team spawn in a Safe House. This is where the magic (and the voting) happens. Everyone picks a class and weapon, then votes on which heist and difficulty to tackle. If nobody votes, the game decides for you—and boy, did the game decide to humble me on my first try. We ended up on the Diamond District heist on Hard difficulty without a single support class. Spoiler: it didn’t end well.
There are four heists currently available:
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Diamond District – Glitzy, vertical, and full of camera choke points.
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The Exchange – A stock exchange floor with tight corridors and ambush opportunities.
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Nightclub – Dark, loud, and chaotic—just like my Saturday nights.
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Road Rage – An armored transport ambush on the move. Pure adrenaline.
Once the match starts, you’re dropped outside the target area. The first phase is stealth. Now, I’m a typical PUBG player—I hear “stealth” and I think “camp in a bathtub.” But here, stealth is an active puzzle. Guards patrol, cameras sweep back and forth, and your detection circle fills up if you’re careless. Crouch-walking with your silenced secondary is the way to go. Take out guards quietly, but remember: they leave behind an evidence bag. If another guard or camera spots it, the alarm trips, and the whole heist goes loud. You can toss the bag into a dumpster to hide it—doing this makes you feel like a real criminal mastermind, though my buddy just calls it “trash duty.”
If you manage to stay undetected long enough, you complete objectives like hacking doors or grabbing keycards before the squad of security forces even knows you’re there. That’s the dream. In reality, someone usually screws up (it’s me, I’m someone). Once the alarm goes off, the combat phase begins. Enemies swarm in assault waves, then temporarily retreat during regroup phases. Special enemies start showing up—shields, tasers, medics that revive fallen guards. It’s a hot mess and I love it.
Classes: pick your poison
Before the heist, you choose a class. Each one has unique abilities, weapons, and a play style that can make or break a run. After a few fails, I learned the hard way that team composition matters more than my ego.
| Class | Role | Playstyle |
|---|---|---|
| Assault | DPS & damage sponge | Automatic rifles, heavy armor, point-and-shoot simplicity. My go-to when I just want to turn my brain off. |
| Support | Heals & buffs | Medium armor, can drop ammo/health, and provides damage boosts. The backbone—if your Support dies, you’re in trouble. |
| Tank | Aggro & close combat | Shotguns, massive health pool, and a taunt ability. They draw fire so the rest of us can actually think. |
| Marksman | Ranged precision | DMRs and sniper rifles. Thin out enemies before they even get close. Essential for open heists like Road Rage. |
| Ghost | Flanker & loot finder | Light armor, silenced SMGs, can spot lootable items and sneak faster. Perfect for hit-and-run tactics. |
My crew runs Assault (me), Tank, Support, and Marksman. Ghost is fun for solo exploration, but when things get loud—and they always get loud—you need that Tank's meat shield and the Support's healing aura.
The loot, the XP, and the sweet rewards
Every piece of loot you secure during the heist adds to your final score. Completing the mission successfully gives you 100% XP, but even failing nets you 20%. That’s a merciful design choice because my first few attempts were… educational. The difficulty you vote on also scales the rewards. Harder heists have more guards, tougher specials, and stricter stealth timers, but the payout feels so much sweeter when you escape with a duffel bag full of cash.
Health is limited—there are no med kits lying around like in battle royale. You rely on supply points scattered through the map or your Support’s abilities. Ammo for your primary weapon is also scarce; secondary weapons have infinite silenced rounds, but to feed your AR or shotgun, you need ammo bags or specific class perks. Managing resources turns the later waves into a tense survival puzzle. I’ve had rounds where my Tank was swinging a melee weapon because we ran dry. It was glorious.
And we can’t talk about PAYDAY without mentioning the Event Pass. For $3.99, you unlock a track of cosmetic rewards themed around the collaboration—masks, outfits, weapon skins. I immediately bought it because I’m a slave to clown-core aesthetics. The event ran from May 13 to June 10 on PC (May 20 to June 18 on console) in 2026, so it’s long over now, but the mode itself is still playable and just as fun.
There were also Twitch/Kick Drops running from May 13–30, 2026, offering the Stranded Pilot set (pants, gloves, hat, vest). If you linked your KRAFTON ID, just watching a stream got you some slick gear. I still rock that vest in normal matches.
Final thoughts: more than just a gimmick
What surprised me most is how much depth this mode has. The random objective and security system placements mean no two runs feel the same. The shift from stealth to combat is thrilling, and the class synergy encourages actual teamwork—something PUBG randoms are notoriously allergic to. It’s a co-op experience that rewards communication and punishes lone wolves. If you’re bored of the classic chicken dinner chase, grab three friends, pick a heist, and prepare for chaos. Just remember to throw those evidence bags in the dumpster. Trust me on this one.