On Wednesday April 6th, 2022, Remedy Entertainment announced a new publishing agreement with Rockstar Games in which they will be remaking the original Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC. The games will be released as a standalone title and will be developed on Remedy’s in-house game engine “Northlight” (Control, Quantum Break). The project is being funded by Rockstar Games, the current IP holder for the Max Payne franchise.
Max Payne is a third-person shooter action game originally released in 2001 on the PC and later the following year on PlayStation 2 and the original Xbox. Developed by Remedy Entertainment and published by Rockstar Games, it was the studio’s first majorly successful release following 1996’s Death Rally. The game was praised for its innovative use of slow-motion “bullet time” during its action gameplay as well as its neo-noir story written by Sam Lake (who also served as the likeness of the character “Max Payne” in the original game).
The game received a sequel, Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, which saw release in 2003. The game was critically praised but saw poor sales. Max Payne 3 was developed and published by Rockstar Games with Remedy Entertainment consulting on various aspects of the development and story.
According to the press release tweeted out by Remedy Entertainment, Rockstar Founder Sam Houser says “We were thrilled when our long-time friends at Remedy approached us about remaking the original Max Payne games.” He continues, “We are massive fans of the work the Remedy team has created over the years, and we can’t wait to play these new versions.”
Remedy CEO Tero Virtala says “Max Payne has always held a special place in the hearts of everyone at Remedy, and we know millions of fans worldwide feel the same.” He continues, “We’re hugely excited to be working with our partners at Rockstar Games once again for the chance to bring the story, action and atmosphere of the original Max Payne games back to players in new ways.”
The press release also states that the development budget supplied by Rockstar Games will be “in-line” with Remedy’s typical AAA game production budget and that the game is currently in the concept development stage.
Fans of the Max Payne games are sure to be excited by today’s news. The original games have gained somewhat of a cult following over the decades since the release of the originals and are perfect games for the modern remake treatment. Remedy has a number of projects in development currently with numerous publishing partners (Alan Wake II and a sequel to Control just to name a few). Remedy writer Sam Lake has also commented on the idea that Remedy’s games exist in a shared universe, so these new remakes have some exciting potential to include references to other characters and events from Remedy’s other franchises. Here’s hoping we can still have Sam Lake reprise his role of Max Payne for the original game, or at least be featured as an unlockable costume.
