PAYDAY 3 Crimebonds Explained: Steal DLC With Renown?
Yes, you can get some Crimebond rewards without buying the DLC. Once you hit level 150, you keep progressing through Renown, and that Renown can now be spent to “steal” selected rewards from a Crimebond.
You cannot steal the entire Crimebond. Some rewards remain paid-only.
And if you steal something with Renown, then later decide to buy that Crimebond anyway, Starbreeze gives the Renown back.
Which, surprisingly, is a pretty sensible system.
You essentially break into the DLC, nick a few things, then return three weeks later with a credit card and Starbreeze goes, “Fair enough, here’s your burglary money back.”
PAYDAY has finally found a loyalty scheme appropriate to PAYDAY.
Grinding Renown means doing more heists, preferably without three strangers turning stealth into a SWAT recruitment drive. See our Best PAYDAY 3 Heists for Solo Players and choose jobs you can actually survive without Kevin firing through a window.
So what actually is a Crimebond?
Crimebonds are themed content packs containing weapons, cosmetics and other rewards.
The system appeared earlier in 2026, but Brute Force is the first paid Crimebond that really shows how this is supposed to work going forward. Starbreeze intends Crimebonds to become a recurring part of PAYDAY 3.
So this is worth understanding now because we are probably going to be having the exact same conversation again.
New Crimebond releases.
Players look at price.
Players look at Renown.
Players ask whether they can grind the thing instead of paying for it.
Reddit catches fire.
Tuesday.
The important change is what Crimebonds have done to Renown.
Renown used to be that thing waiting beyond level 150 because progression systems apparently aren't allowed to end anymore. You reach the level cap, continue playing, another number continues going up and somewhere a UI designer can sleep peacefully knowing nobody has encountered the terrifying concept of completion.
Crimebonds have now given that number an actual job.
What does Renown do now?
Once you reach PAYDAY 3's normal level cap of 150, further progression goes into Renown.
Renown can now be spent on eligible Crimebond rewards.
Starbreeze calls this stealing them, which is probably the first time somebody has improved a progression system simply by choosing a better verb.
“Exchange post-cap progression for selected premium content” sounds like a PowerPoint presentation.
“Steal this gun.”
Yes.
That'll do.
Renown is earned by continuing to play PAYDAY 3. It is not premium currency that you buy separately.
The current Renown cap is 1600.
What I wouldn't do yet is pretend we can turn that into one beautifully precise grind calculation for every player.
The previous Renown system used 2,000 Infamy Points per Renown level, but Starbreeze hasn't restated that conversion alongside the current Crimebond system. Heist progression also varies depending on what you're playing and how you're playing it.
So if somebody tells you:
“This takes exactly 43 hours.”
I'd treat that number with the same suspicion you should normally reserve for a man approaching a getaway van carrying seventeen bags of jewellery and saying, “Don't worry, I've calculated the weight.”
The useful question isn't really how many hours the Crimebond takes.
It's how much Renown the thing you actually want costs.
Not every PAYDAY 3 job deserves another evening of your finite human lifespan. See our PAYDAY 3 Heists Ranked and find out which robberies are worth returning to once Crimebonds have you back on the payroll.
Can you grind the whole Crimebond for free?
No.
Owning the Crimebond gives you the complete package.
Without buying it, only selected rewards can be stolen using Renown.
So:
Can you earn Crimebond rewards through gameplay? Yes.
Can you grind until the entire paid DLC becomes yours? No.
Some rewards remain locked behind the purchase.
That means you should look at each Crimebond individually.
Maybe the weapon you actually want is stealable and you couldn't care less about the other twelve things. Fantastic. Spend Renown.
Maybe the good stuff is paid-only and the Renown rewards are mostly clothing you would not put on Dallas if he had lost a bet.
Then the equation changes rather dramatically.
This is also where the future of Crimebonds will live or die for me.
The mechanic itself is actually clever.
But if Starbreeze starts putting the most desirable gameplay items behind money while Renown gets you two gloves, an emote and a pair of trousers apparently designed by a hostage, then “stealing” becomes decorative theatre.
What happens if you buy the Crimebond afterwards?
You get the Renown back.
And this is probably the best part of the system.
Say you don't buy Brute Force.
You spend Renown stealing one or two rewards.
Then a month later there's a sale, you decide you want the rest, or you simply suffer one of those moments where the human brain looks at £7.99 and decides this somehow no longer counts as money.
You buy the Crimebond.
The Renown you already spent on rewards from that Crimebond is reimbursed.
So you aren't punished for using Renown first.
That's important because otherwise the whole system would quietly encourage you not to use the system.
You'd be sitting there with 900 Renown thinking:
I could unlock this weapon now, but what if I buy the DLC later?
Which would turn Renown into an emergency fund nobody ever touches.
Instead, you can spend it.
If you later buy the Crimebond, you get it back and can go rob another Crimebond.
There is something beautifully stupid about an armed-robbery game creating a system where you steal DLC, eventually pay for it properly, then receive a refund in criminal experience points.
Greg from Accounts has somehow become part of the crew.
Didn't spending Renown permanently lower your level?
For a short while, it could look that way.
There was a launch bug affecting players who were already sitting at the maximum Renown level. After spending Renown on Crimebond rewards, they could end up unable to properly earn those Renown levels back.
That was a bug, not how the system is supposed to work.
Starbreeze fixed it in Hotfix 3.9.1 on September 24.
So under the intended system, Renown behaves like something you're spending and can earn again.
You aren't supposed to reach Renown 1600, steal a hat and discover you've permanently damaged your criminal career.
Imagine explaining that to the gang.
“Guys, I know we've robbed banks, shot our way through police cordons and stolen enough gold to give Fort Knox anxiety, but unfortunately I bought some trousers on Tuesday and now personal growth is over.”
Is Renown actually useful now?
Yes.
Considerably more useful.
And I think that's the interesting part of the entire Crimebond system.
Previously the question was:
What happens after level 150?
Now it is:
How much stuff can I get without paying for it?
That is a much better question.
Veteran players suddenly have something tangible to spend Renown on. People still climbing toward 150 now have a reason to care about what happens after the normal progression cap. And Crimebonds are no longer a simple choice between paying and walking away.
There's now a third option.
Rob the shop.
Not all of it.
Apparently there are rules.
But still.
If PAYDAY has reminded you why robbing banks is more entertaining than responsible employment, the rabbit hole gets considerably deeper. See our Best Heist Games for more carefully organised criminal incompetence.
Should you spend Renown or just buy the Crimebond?
Look at the specific rewards you want.
If something you want can be stolen with Renown and you already have enough, using Renown first makes sense. If you later decide you want the full Crimebond, the Renown spent on those rewards should come back.
If several things you want are paid-only, buying the Crimebond becomes the more obvious route.
And if you want absolutely everything but insist on grinding every stealable item individually because spending ten euros would offend your principles, that's also a choice.
You can walk from Brussels to Paris as well.
Technically free.
Pack sandwiches.
The important thing is that Renown finally has a meaningful place in PAYDAY 3's economy.
Every future Crimebond now has the potential to create the same little calculation:
What do I actually want?
What can I steal?
What do they still expect me to pay for?
Which is a far more interesting progression system than watching a number climb because the game couldn't think of anywhere else to put the XP.
PAYDAY 3 Crimebonds FAQ
Can you get Crimebond rewards without buying the DLC?
Yes. Once you reach level 150, you can spend Renown to steal selected Crimebond rewards without buying the full pack.
Can you unlock the entire Crimebond with Renown?
No. Only certain rewards can be stolen. Some items remain paid-only, so Renown cannot replace buying the whole Crimebond.
What happens if I spend Renown and buy the Crimebond later?
You get the spent Renown back. Starbreeze reimburses Renown used on rewards from that Crimebond once you purchase it.
How do you earn Renown?
After reaching level 150, continued progression goes into Renown. Keep completing heists and earning progression, and the criminal loyalty points keep crawling upward.
Is the Renown cap bug still active?
No. The issue affecting max-Renown players after spending Renown was fixed in Hotfix 3.9.1 on September 24, 2026.
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