Payday 3 Stuck on ‘Waiting for Match’ Forever – Matchmaking Error Explained

Launch day issues are getting more and more common...

Payday 3 Artwork
Image via Starbreeze

Picture it: you’ve just bought Payday 3, and you’re stoked to get into a match. You queue up, and the ‘Waiting for Match’ message appears. No problem, you’ll get into one in a minute. And then a minute turns into 10, then 30, and then an hour. Here’s what you need to know about why Payday 3 is stuck on ‘Waiting for Match’ for what feels like forever.

Why is Payday 3 Stuck on ‘Waiting for Match’ Forever?

Simply put, at the time of writing on September 22, 2023, Payday 3 is having server issues with no ETA on when players can expect to be able to play. The online title has been facing problems since its full launch on September 21, with people facing connection problems and being unable to get into matches, both with others and solo.

“We’re seeing an increase of matchmaking issues, the team is investigating,” the official Payday Twitter (X) account posted on September 22. An hour later, they reassured players that “the team is working hard to restore functionality” before following up with, “The team is still working on the current matchmaking service outage, hoping to have a more positive update soon,” two hours after that.

Can I Fix Payday 3 Stuck on ‘Waiting for Match’ Forever?

No, you can’t unless the issue is on your end, which you can troubleshoot by checking the Payday 3 server status. If there’s no word of an outage on Payday 3’s side, there are a few things you can do to try and resolve the problem:

  • Restart Payday 3.
  • Restart your PC, PS5, or Xbox Series X|S.
  • Reboot your router.
  • Switch from a wireless connection to an ethernet connection.
  • Flush your DNS.

If the error still persists and you’re sure it’s because of something on your end, you can submit a support ticket on the PLAION Player Support website. Mention any of the above methods that you’ve tried to help nail down a solution faster.

About the Author

Meg Bethany Koepp

Meg started out as a video games journalist in the UK in 2014, and obtained a degree in Games Journalism & PR (yes, it exists) in 2018. Later that year, she moved to the US, where she eventually became Managing Editor at Prima Games in May 2022. When she's not working, you can find her playing her ASUS ROG Ally, training Pokémon, or trailblazing through the galaxy in Honkai: Star Rail. You can contact Meg at [email protected].