Crime Boss: Rockay City gameplay looks like a “Payday clone” according to worried fans

Concerned fans of Crime Boss: Rockay City have claimed that gameplay of the upcoming INGAME STUDIOS title looks like a “Payday clone”, after it was revealed at The Game Awards 2022.

Crime Boss: Rockay City is a debut game by INGAME STUDIOS, a Czech-based developer.

When the game was announced at The Game Awards 2022, no concept gameplay of any kind was shown, leaving viewers slightly lost.

However, on December 9, six minutes of gameplay were shown off in a YouTube Gameplay trailer from GameSpot.

Immediately, many fans compared the game to Payday, with most of the comparisons being negative and expressing concern at their apparent similarity.

Crime Boss: Rockay City gameplay draws unfavorable Payday comparisons

Many comments under the gameplay video were quick to point out that this reminds them of Payday almost beat for beat. From the 4 players’ first-person co-op robbery simulator aspect to the usage of a drill to open the primary vault, the similarities were too obvious for a lot of viewers to ignore.

One player said: “I was actually kinda hoping this was a GTA clone where you did missions for and met these characters. If it’s just Payday or similar, it’s a hard pass for me.”

Another jokingly commented: “Payday 3 at home.”

Others shared their frustration about feeling misled to believe that the game will be an open-world experience akin to GTA, finally providing Rockstar some competition. GTA Online, despite launching nearly a decade ago, continues to be immensely popular among players.

Some players, though, did celebrate the similarities to Payday’s gameplay and look forward to co-op’ing with their friends. For example, a pleased fan noted: “Feels a lot like Payday, which I’m cool with.”

Let us hope that the experience differentiates itself from Payday enough to be recognized as a game inspired by it, instead of the “copycat” concerns that were expressed by some gaming fans.