• GAME TYPE: 4 player co-op Gamemode

  • Studio: Starbreeze Studios X Krafton

  • Release Year: 2026

  • My Role: UI/UX Design (Menu flow & HUD)

  • Team size: 20-40 people

My Contributions on the Project

  • Led UI/UX design for a PAYDAY-inspired game mode in PUBG, using PUBG’s UI Design system.

  • Collaborated closely with developers and artists, designers to extend the existing UI system with new components, and designed the complete user journey—from mode discovery in the main menu through gameplay interfaces in the HUD, all the way to the results screen—focusing on intuitive flows and seamless integration.

Trailer

PUBG x PAYDAY - UX Case:

Menu Flow & Progression UX

PUBG’s PAYDAY mode introduced a new kind of experience inside PUBG: a four-player co-op PvE heist mode where players plan, prepare, infiltrate, secure loot, survive, and escape. Unlike PUBG’s standard match flow, this mode needed a stronger sense of preparation and progression before the match even started. The official mode flow was built around preparation, infiltration, objective completion, loot securing, survival, and escape.

My role was to design the UI/UX for the front-end experience: how players discover the mode, enter matchmaking, prepare in the Safehouse, understand new mechanics, choose classes and weapons, vote for heist and difficulty, and finally see progression after the mission.

The challenge was to building a heist loop inside PUBG’s existing UI ecosystem.

The Challenge

PAYDAY changed PUBG’s rhythm, shifting the focus from survival to team preparation, roles, heist choices, and progression. The Safehouse brought these systems together.

The full player journey became:

  1. PAYDAY Mode / Arcade menu
  2. Matchmaking
  3. Safehouse Preparation
  4. Tutorialization & Onboarding
  5. Heist + Difficulty Voting
  6. Class / Weapon Selection
  7. Mission Start
  8. Results & Progression
  9. Replay

Design Approach

I started by mapping the full player journey and identifying where players needed information, where they needed choice, and where they simply needed to move forward quickly.

The key design goals were:

1. Keep the flow familiar

2. Make preparation feel meaningful

3. Teach through context

4. Connect progression to replay

(Wire frames to show flow between HUD to Result screen.)

1. Safehouse as Preparation

The design challenge was making this space feel useful and atmospheric without becoming too slow for an arcade mode.

  • It gave players a clear preparation phase.

  • It created a stronger heist fantasy.

  • It gave the team time to make shared choices.

  • It created space for onboarding without stopping the flow.

(Inside Safehouse, player exploring whiteboard with mission details.)

2. Class & Weapon Selection

The design needed to make class selection readable at a glance, without overwhelming players with too much information before the mission started.

  • Choose class

  • Choose weapon

  • Show locked and unlocked Items

  • Show how progression affected future runs

  • Show how their choice supported the team synergy

(In-game screenshot of class & weapon selection menu.)

3. Heist & Difficulty Voting

Voting was an important part of making the Safehouse feel like a team preparation space. Players could vote for both heist and difficulty, and the final selection was based on the team’s votes.

  • Available heists

  • Difficulty options

  • Time before mission start

This helped turn preparation into a shared team moment rather than a static lobby screen.

(In-game screenshot of heist selection menu.)

4. Results & Progression Loop

The result screen connected heist performance to progression, with loot, mission success, and difficulty determining rewards and XP.

  • loot Secured

  • XP Earned

  • Class Progression

  • Unlocks

  • Replay Motivation

The goal was to make players understand why the run mattered, what they gained, and what they could unlock next.

(In-game screenshot of heist success screen.)

Impact

The final menu flow turned PAYDAY from a simple mode entry into a complete heist loop:

  • Players could discover and enter the gamemode through familiar PUBG navigation.

  • The Safehouse created a meaningful preparation phase.

  • Safehouse tutorial pop-ups taught new mechanics without needing a separate tutorial level.

  • Reused PAYDAY 3 assets helped build fantasy while saving production time.

  • Class and weapon progression gave players a reason to replay.

(Video of multiplayer lobby within the safehouse.)

Summary

For PUBG’s PAYDAY mode, I designed the front-end UX that connected PUBG’s Arcade menu to a full cooperative heist experience. By using the Safehouse as a preparation, tutorial, and fantasy space, we created a smoother onboarding flow while supporting class selection, voting, progression unlocks, and replay motivation.

The result was a menu experience that felt deeper than a standard arcade mode, but still familiar and efficient within PUBG’s existing UI system.

The players are able to earn cosmetic rewards they can use throughout the game and other gamemodes.

(Event pass menu with PAYDAY gamemode rewards)

Next

Payday 3