Intense ‘cops v robbers’ shooter, PAYDAY: Crime War, has finally made its way to the App Store and Google Play. It’s currently available in soft launch for players in most EU countries, including the UK, and – as first reported by Android Police – a US beta period has been announced.

News of the US beta arrived over on the game’s Facebook page. It’ll be playable for a limited time prior to the full launch. Crime War has been in the works since all the way back in 2016, maybe even earlier. The first gameplay actually cropped up in early 2017, and, besides a few hands-on previews late last year, development progress has been fairly quiet since then. You can watch the trailer below to see the game's old cel-shaded style, which has since been updated.

When I first heard that the core gameplay had changed from 4-player co-op to 4v4 competitive, I must admit to being a little disappointed. A lot of the series’ appeal for me came from the fact that it focused on tactical co-op play and did that one specific thing really well. Now that it’s a more straightforward competitive game, I’m not really sure what makes it stand out.

It does all look quite nice, and I have hope that the series’ enjoyable FPS action will still hold up well. That being said, Android Police’s hands-on does mention an excess of IAPs, ads, and loot boxes, which I’m not thrilled about.

If you still fancy giving it a try, just head for the App Store or Google Play to download PAYDAY: Crime War. As I say, it's currently only available in select regions, and the UK is definitely on of them.