The Max Payne franchise is incredibly influential to the current industry, but the first couple of games are a little dated at this point. They were made by Remedy Entertainment before the developer went on to Alan Wake, Quantum Break, and Control. Series rights holder Rockstar Games went ahead and made Max Payne 3, which launched about a decade ago. Ever since, though, there hasn’t been a peep. This is why it’s so surprising that Remedy has announced that Max Payne and its sequel are getting remakes, bringing Sam Lake and company back to the franchise for the first time in nearly 20 years.
On both Twitter and via press release, Remedy Entertainment announced that the studio has entered into a partnership with Rockstar Games to make the remakes happen. The press release quotes Rockstar founder Sam Houser, who states that it was Remedy who approached Rockstar to make this happen. The CEO of Remedy, Tero Virtala, went on to say how excited he is to be able to bring the games to players in “new ways.”
The Max Payne remakes will be released as a single title on PC. The collection is also making use of the Remedy’s Northlight game engine, which powered both Control and Quantum Break. So far, the duology is in the concept development stage, so don’t expect to see it anytime soon.
Remedy is ready to bring the Payne again
The first two Max Payne games, released in 2001 and 2003 respectively, introduced the titular hardboiled protagonist. A New York City cop out to stop the manufacture and distribution of the drug taken by the junkies that murdered his wife and child, Max goes out into the city to dive through the air in slow motion, shoot thugs to pieces, and take a medically inadvisable number of painkillers along the way. The second game continues his story, adding a female lead into the mix.
It remains to be seen how extensive the remakes will be, but I’m confident that Remedy Entertainment will deliver the goods in the end.
