PAYDAY Film Adaptation Set With Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's G-Unit
The heist video game franchise has drawn more than 50 million players since its debut.
VICE Studios and Starbreeze Entertainment have partnered with Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson and his G-Unit Film & Television to executive produce a screen adaptation of PAYDAY, the long-running video game franchise built around masked heist crews. The deal aims to bring the game's world of high-stakes robberies, betrayal, and conspiracy to global audiences.
'G-Unit Film & TV has built cinematic crime stories that connect with audiences around the world. Teaming up with VICE Studios and bringing the world of PAYDAY to the screen gives us the chance to build something big, a high-energy franchise that pushes the heist genre forward,' said Jackson.
Since its launch in 2011, PAYDAY has gone from a game to a global phenomenon. Over 15 years of continuous development have made the PAYDAY name synonymous with heisting, serving a massive community of more than 50 million players.
The game's masked protagonists have proven that no score is too audacious, no enemy too powerful, and no fortune enough to stop their criminal ambitions. The cinematic heists mix high-octane action in exciting heist locations with stories about betrayal, conspiracy, and corruption.
'PAYDAY has always been about the fantasy of getting away with it. Curtis and G-Unit don't do subtle, and neither do we. This is not about playing it safe; it's about doing the franchise justice with people who are as immersed in the world as we are,' said Adolf Kristjansson, CEO of Starbreeze Entertainment.
'VICE has always been drawn to stories that live outside the lines, and PAYDAY is exactly that kind of world,' said Amy Powell, President of VICE Studios. 'G-Unit understands what makes PAYDAY tick, and they're bringing a perspective that's true to the franchise without playing it safe.'
About Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson & G-Unit
Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson has built a thriving television and film career as both a producer and actor. In 2005, he founded G-Unit Film & Television, which has produced a wide range of content across multiple platforms and sold numerous shows to major networks.
Among the company's successes is the critically acclaimed STARZ series Power, in which Jackson co-starred while also serving as executive producer and director. He later expanded the franchise with the spinoffs Power Book II: Ghost, Power Book III: Raising Kanan and Power Book IV: Force.
Most recently, G-Unit Film & Television produced the Netflix docuseries Sean Combs: The Reckoning, which debuted at No. 1 in more than 50 countries within its first 24 hours on the platform and was the recipient of three Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Documentary. The company is currently in production on Power: Origins and Power: Legacy for STARZ and Fightland, its first internationally produced series, is set to premiere on July 31. G-Unit Film and Television is also producing a definitive biographical docuseries on Jackson for Hulu.
At Peacock, G-Unit Film & Television is developing an adaptation of Jackson's novel The Accomplice, with Taraji P. Henson attached to star, as well as a limited series surrounding the Long Island serial killer case, based in part on Peacock's Emmy-nominated docuseries on the subject.
The company also produced ABC's For Life and the hit STARZ series Black Mafia Family, and recently aired Season 2 of the Black Mafia Family docuseries. Additional projects in development for STARZ include The Massacre, Queen Nzinga, and Bone Parish. Other releases include Peacock's TikTok Star Murders and WeTV's Hip Hop Homicides.
Expanding into the podcast space, Jackson launched G-Unit Audio, which partnered with iHeartMedia and Lionsgate Sound on Surviving El Chapo: The Twins Who Brought Down a Drug Lord. G-Unit Film & Television is also developing a docuseries based on the podcast for BET+ and is currently in production on the DMX Podcast.
On the acting side, Jackson will portray Balrog in Legendary Entertainment's upcoming adaptation of Street Fighter, which will be released globally on October 14th. He also hosted and executive produced Fox Nation's true-crime docuseries 50 Ways to Catch a Killer.
In 2024, Jackson partnered with Lionsgate to launch the FAST channel 50 Cent Action, which was recently named the No. 1 action channel on Roku and LG Channels' FAST platforms. The free, ad-supported channel features premium content from Lionsgate's library, including the original Power series, along with films such as John Wick, The Expendables, The Hitman's Bodyguard and Rambo.
About VICE Studios
VICE Studios, a division of VICE Media, develops, finances and produces premium, award-winning and culture-defining content for the global marketplace. Operating with a full-service production facility, VICE Studios powers scripted, unscripted and branded content that anticipates culture with a distinct bold, authentic, raw and unfiltered VICE lens. The studio is behind the critically-acclaimed Gangs of London, in production for a fourth season on Sky in the UK with the third season currently airing on AMC+. Recent scripted titles include the adrenaline-charged thriller Atomic, for Sky, and the satirical feature Bad Apples, starring Oscar-nominated Saoirse Ronan. The studio is behind a string of hits for VICE TV including Dark Side of the Ring, Dark Side of the Cage, United Gangs of America, Hells Angels, and Out of Bounds. Other recent unscripted titles include Into the Void (Hulu), Hollywood Hustler: Glitz, Glam, Scam (Prime Video), Pavements (Mubi), Bama Rush (HBO), and Lewis Capaldi: How I'm Feeling Now (Netflix). VICE Studios owns and operates the Cuba Pictures label, behind hit series The Rumour and The Walsh Sisters.
About PAYDAY
PAYDAY is Starbreeze's flagship co-op heisting franchise, spanning PC and console games with a global community. It is one of the world's most recognized co-op heisting experiences, having engaged more than 50 million players and generated more than $400 million in lifetime gross revenue.
With the franchise at the core of Starbreeze's strategy, PAYDAY continues to evolve through new content and live engagement, partnerships, and licensing that expand the universe to new audiences and formats. PAYDAY is a registered trademark of Starbreeze AB (publ).
About Starbreeze Entertainment
Starbreeze is an independent developer, publisher, and distributor of video games targeting the global market. Housing the smash hit IP PAYDAY, Starbreeze develops games based on proprietary and third-party rights, both in-house and in partnership with external game developers. Starbreeze shares are listed on Nasdaq Stockholm under the tickers STAR A and STAR B. For more information, visit www.starbreeze.com
VICE Studios' broader slate includes Capital, a crime drama series from Guy Ritchie; Gangs of London, currently in production on its fourth season; an adaptation of Anika Jade Levy's novel Flat Earth; and the feature film Bad Apples, starring Saoirse Ronan.
