50 Cent signs on as executive producer of a Payday TV series
50 Cent is joining the Payday franchise as executive producer of a TV adaptation, partnering with Vice Studios and Starbreeze Entertainment. The rapper's production company, G-Unit Film & Television — behind Power and BMF on Starz — will lead the project. The announcement lands while Starbreeze is deep in a financial hole following the catastrophic launch of Payday 3.
The franchise in freefall
Payday built its reputation on Payday 2, the 2013 co-op heist shooter that still has an active player base today. The third entry, released in 2023, erased most of that goodwill: sales collapsed from $44.5 million in 2023 to just $7.7 million in 2024, and Starbreeze posted an $18.5 million net loss last year, per PC Gamer. At its lowest point, the game reportedly peaked at around 700 concurrent Steam players — a brutal number for a flagship title.
That context makes the TV pivot read less like a victory lap and more like a lifeline.
G-Unit's crime-drama pedigree
50 Cent has a proven track record with prestige crime drama. The Power universe on Starz has run for years across multiple spinoffs, and BMF drew strong numbers for the network. G-Unit now operates an independent 985,000 sq ft studio facility in Shreveport, Louisiana — opened in April 2024 — giving the company genuine production infrastructure rather than just a name-above-the-title credit.
In a statement to Variety, 50 Cent said: "G-Unit Film & TV has created cinematic crime stories that resonate with audiences worldwide. Partnering with Vice Studios and adapting Payday allows us to build something big — a franchise that will take the heist genre to the next level."
Vice Studios, the production arm behind Gangs of London, brings UK and European distribution experience to the table.
50 Cent's G-Unit Film & Television will executive produce the Payday TV adaptation alongside Vice Studios.
Still very early days
There is no writer, showrunner, or platform attached to the Payday series. No budget or production timeline has been confirmed, and it isn't yet clear whether this will be a film or a multi-season show. In 2026, that's an unusually thin development slate for a major franchise announcement — suggesting the project is still in the pitch phase, using 50 Cent's name to attract streaming partners rather than signaling an imminent greenlight.
For fans of the mask-wearing, vault-cracking series, this is a reason for cautious interest — not excitement just yet.
