PAYDAY: Crime War is the mobile adaptation of the popular multiplayer shooter series PAYDAY from developer Overkills, and it has now been soft-launched on both Google Play and the App Store in a few selected regions including Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Finland, Sweden, Brazil, and India. No doubt this is a step to prepare for the official release, which should be in the near future.

Crime War has been a long time coming. It was originally announced all the way back in June 2016, with the first gameplay footage being revealed in May 2017. From what we’ve seen so far, it seems the game will put a heavier focus on 4v4 competitive play instead of the co-op heist action that has pretty much become a tradition with the series at this point. Check out its trailer below:

By the look of things, Crime War will go for a full-on free-to-play monetization model. Honestly, though, this isn’t exactly that surprising, although it certainly will be a turn off to many players. We can expect the game will include ads, IAPs, and loot boxes, pretty much all the usual stuff for a free mobile title.

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The game will put a heavier focus on 4v4 action

On the plus side, PAYDAY: Crime War does look pretty nice with its cel-shaded graphics. Hopefully it will have decent gameplay too. In any case, the developer will have to properly monitor the pay model and not be too greedy with it, lest it ruins the entire experience. We’ll have to wait and see.

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The free-to-play monetization model is indeed concerning, but we'll have to wait and see how it will turn out

No release date for the official version of PAYDAY: Crime War has been confirmed at the moment, so do stay tuned for more update if you are interested in checking the game out. If you live in one of the regions where the soft launch is available, though, you can find it available for download on both Google Play and the App Store right now.