April 6 (UPI) — Remedy Entertainment and Rockstar Games announced Wednesday that they will remake the first two Max Payne video games.
In its surprise announcement, Remedy said it will work with Rockstar under a new publishing agreement to remake Max Payne (2001) and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (2003) for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S.
Remedy will handle development of the games while Rockstar will finance the projects, the size of which “will be in line with a typical Remedy AAA-game production.”
The Max Payne remakes will be developed on Remedy’s Northlight game engine, which is the same engine that was used to create Control and the upcoming Alan Wake 2.
“We were thrilled when our longtime friends at Remedy approached us about remaking the original Max Payne games,” Rockstar founder Sam Houser said in a statement. “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.”
The original Max Payne games were a result of a partnership between Remedy and Rockstar, with Remedy handling development and Rockstar Games publishing. Rockstar also served as the developer of Max Payne 3, which was released in May 2012.
“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,” Remedy CEO Tero Virtala said.
“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 project, which will be developed as a single title, currently is in the concept development stage. No release date has been set.
The original Max Payne series was widely lauded for its neo-noir atmosphere, compelling storytelling and “bullet-time” gunplay, and it also left an indelible mark in popular culture.
In 2008, a movie adaptation — loosely based on the first game — titled Max Payne was released, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis in the roles of Max Payne and Mona Sax, respectively.
