Overkill Software has released an update for the PC version of Payday 2, adding microtransactions for random item drops that impact gameplay in the team-based multiplayer shooter.

According to its developer, The Black Market Update is designed to “opens up a brand new way of allowing you to personalise your weapons with skins, mods and more.”

Items are acquired by unlocking safes, which can only be done by purchasing a special drill for $2.50. Once the safe is cracked open, the player is given a random weapon skin which bestows a new ability to the gun.

“Vlad’s operation is smuggling brand-new, precision-engineered Safes from Washington state to Washington D.C. But these safes are tough to open. Only the best heisters, with the right tool, can crack them,” the developer explains on a bespoke Black Market website.

“Each safe drops a slick weapon skin, and each skin may have special mods and a stat boost associated with it. Sometimes, very rarely, a safe may even contain a precious Legendary skin.”

Much like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Team Fortress 2, these skins can also be sold or traded on the Steam Community Market, effectively creating an in-game economy.

In January 2013, Payday 2 lead designer David Goldfarb said the game would not have microtransactions. Asked if the studio anticipated putting them in the game Goldfarb said “No. No. God, I hope not. Never. No.”

Goldfarb has since left Overkill, saying that his decision to leave was due to a personal ambition to leave AAA game development, and not because of a lack of faith in the company.

As part of the Crimefest event, Payday and Payday 2 are both on sale. The second game will be available to play for free for the duration of the ten-day event. New weapons and rebalances have also been deployed.

The full list of day one changes can be found below.

• Fixed so that weapon statistic values are displayed correctly in the Inventory. There will be no longer be any rounding of numbers for all weapon statistics, except for the Concealment and the Threat statistic which will calculate the same as before
• Improved the layout of the Blackmarket Modification Menu
• Rebalanced all weapons to increase the player’s options when playing on higher difficulties. The overall weapon versatility is increased so that more weapons will fit more different playstyles
• Added so that Safes can be dropped in the Card Loot Drop screen after a successful heist
• Added the choice in Video Option to turn on and off seeing Weapon Skins in 3rd person. The option is called “Use HQ weapons”
• Added Steam Inventory to the game so that the player can see their Weapon Skins, Drills and Safes in the game
• Added a Weapon Skin tab to the Blackmarket Modification Menu

Payday 2: Crimewave Edition was released for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on June 16.