Starbreeze has signed a licensing agreement with Canadian publisher PopReach to re-launch mobile title Payday Crime War.

The terms of the agreement will see Starbreeze net a non-recoupable upfront payment of $250,000, while PopReach will receive the complete source code to Payday Crime War and access to Payday 2 content. 

The free-to-play publisher will be responsible for the continued development of Payday Crime War as well as all marketing, live operations, and user acquisition efforts. PopReach hopes to soft launch a beta version of the revived title by the end of 2021.

The news comes just weeks after Starbreeze appointed Tobias Sjogren as its permanent CEO, and signed a co-publishing agreement with Koch Media to help launch Payday 3 in 2023. 

The Swedish company is continuing its gradual rehabilitation after exiting reconstruction and paying off the majority of its creditors, with the studio having previously refocused its entire business in a bid to stay above water.