In 2013, Overkill released Payday 2, building off of the successes of Payday: The Heist. Ever since then, Payday 2 has maintained its position as one of the most populated games on Steam. After the game was given out for free during a special offer that began about a week ago, Payday 2 saw a surge from an average of 10,000 players all the way to an average of 70,000 players, and the number seems to be rising.
As you can see, Payday 2 is a game that entails heisting as a group (or by yourself) for the sole purpose of increasing the amount of money in your offshore account through robbing banks, rigging elections, stealing cars, cooking meth in a forest, and plenty more.
RIght from the beginning, you're thrown into the world of Crime.net where you can choose exactly what you want to do as various lobbies started by other players online cycle through until you find one you want; or you can start your own lobby with the settings that you decide, for a small fee.
Payday 2's heists come in all forms, with plenty of variety to keep the player busy. While the game does not spend ample time teaching you how to actually play, forcing the player to either learn from mistakes or others in the community, Payday 2 did an excellent job diversifying the difficulty of their heists. As the heists get harder, new mechanics are introduced to keep the game from becoming repetitive too quickly.
For the last four years, Overkill has been releasing additional content as DLC in a price range between $3-$7, which has been generally scoffed at by the community. Thankfully, the base game contains more than enough content to justify the fair price of $20. (As of very recently, Payday 2 is now available in the form of an "Ultimate Edition" for about $30.)
There are two ways Payday 2 lets you approach a heist, known as 'stealth', and 'loud', remaining unseen or going in guns blazing. Each entails a very different experience. Stealthing a heist is typically the preferred way if it can be done, requiring the group to be mindful of the mechanics of that heist in order to avoid setting off the alarm. Giving these options to the player is an effective way that Overkill adds even more variety to the game.
For an older game, Payday 2 looks quite good, especially thanks to all of the updates the game has received. The voice acting is done very well, and the sound design is more than convincing.
The Benevolent Bank
Conclusion
Payday 2 still has plenty of steam left in it as the most popular cooperative heisting game by far. The game has an advantage, because robbing banks and stealing cars are inherently fun activities. The skill ceiling in this game gives the player a sense of progression as they proceed to try to tackle tougher heists, leading to bigger and rewards along with a sense of accomplishment. The fact it can be fun solo as well with a group of friends solidifies Payday 2 as the king of co-op heisting games until a competitor can challenge its throne.