Juhl will take over from previous interim CEO Jurgen Goeldner, who has been nominated as Chairman of the Payday 3 developer's Board of Directors.
As Starbreeze Studios continues to attempt to right its course with Payday 3, so too is it making moves in its leadership to push the studio past its issues. The studio announced today that it would be appointing current Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Mats Juhl as interim CEO of the company as it continues to seek out a suitable recruit to fill the role permanently. Previous interim CEO Jürgen Goeldner will vacate the role with a nomination to Chairman of the Board at Starbreeze.
This executive shake-up at Starbreeze was announced in a press release on the studio’s company website. Juhl has been with Starbreeze Studios since 2020 and has performed admirably according to the company. Former interim CEO Jürgen Goeldner was never meant to be in the role for long, and it seems that will still be the case with Juhl. Nonethelss, Starbreeze expressed faith in Juhl’s ability to lead the company forward in the short term.
Source: Starbreeze Studios
The shake-up of leadership at Starbreeze began around two months ago in March 2024, when former CEO Tobias Sjögren was ousted from the studio. While Starbreeze has been in recovery mode for some time, Sjögren had lost the trust of the board following the disastrous launch of Payday 3 and shaky attempts to correct what was wrong with it. So far, Payday 3 continues to be a black eye on the studio as it works hard to shape it up into a series sequel that fans will actually play.
With Mats Juhl taking over as interim CEO and Jürgen Goeldner moving up to Chairman of the Board, it will be interesting to see if Starbreeze can find its way back to good graces. Stay tuned as we continue to cover Starbreeze, Payday 3, and other related news.
TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.
