Remedy Entertainment and Rockstar Games have announced a collaboration that will see the first two games in the Max Payne series fully remade for the PS5, Xbox Series X and PC.
2001’s Max Payne and 2003’s Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne will be reworked for next-gen hardware. Remedy will handle the development of the project, while Rockstar offers financial support and publishes the remake collection.
The original Max Payne games were also a result of a partnership between Remedy and Rockstar. The former developed the third-person shooter games, while the latter published them. However, Rockstar retained ownership of the franchise, and in 2012 released Max Payne 3, which was developed by Rockstar itself although Remedy did act in a consultancy role.
Commenting on the Max Payne remake project, founder of Rockstar Games Sam Houser said: “We were thrilled when our long-time friends at Remedy approached us about remaking the original Max Payne games. 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 added: “Max Payne has always held a special place in the hearts of everyone at Remedy, and we know the millions of fans worldwide feel the same. 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 two remakes will be released in a single package, think Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 Remake, and the games will be developed in Remedy’s Northlight engine. This is the same development engine used to create 2019’s Control and is being used to develop the upcoming Alan Wake 2.
If you've never played Max Payne or its first sequel, you’ve missed out. Widely acknowledged as having popularized video game “bullet time," Max Payne is a neo-noir third-person shooter that follows a former NYC police detective who turns vigilante after his wife and daughter are murdered by gangsters. Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne were particularly praised for laser-sharp writing and cinematic gunplay.
There’s already plenty of excitement surrounding this Max Payne remake project, but unfortunately, it's almost certainly several years from release. Remedy notes in its announcement post that the “development agreement was signed [April 6]” and “the project is currently in the concept development stage.”
