Everything we know about upcoming Max Payne remakes
Remedy Entertainment brings bullet time to a new generation.
Everyone’s favorite scowling, time-dilating detective is set to return to video games. The first two Max Payne games, released in 2001 and 2003, were fan favorites, garnering praise for their mature stories, interesting characters, and signature bullet-time gameplay. Now, those two classic action games are being remade for modern consoles. The Max Payne remakes may still be a long way off, but here’s everything there is to know so far about their upcoming release.
Who is developing the Max Payne remake?
Remedy Entertainment, the studio that originally developed Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, is also handling the remake. Both of its Max Payne games will be bundled together as a single title. As with the original release of Max Payne and Max Payne 2, the remake will be published by Rockstar Games.
Max Payne’s bullet-time feature is a defining element of its combat.
Does the Max Payne remake have a release windoq?
Not yet. Remedy Entertainment and Rockstar Games announced the Max Payne remake project on April 6, 2022. In the announcement, the studios said, “The project is currently in the concept development stage.” That means we’re in very early days for this project.
Remedy’s previous game, Control, was in development for three years, while its earlier games Quantum Break and Alan Wake took five and seven years to make, respectively. Given that, it’s likely that the Max Payne remake release date is still at least a few years away.
How will the Max Payne remake be different from the originals?
Remedy and Rockstar haven’t revealed any specifics on what’s being updated for the Max Payne remake. The term “remake” alone does imply that it will be a more significant overhaul of the original games than Rockstar’s recent Grand Theft Auto trilogy remaster, for instance.
One possibly telling detail is that the game is being developed on Remedy’s proprietary Northlight engine, as opposed to the MaxFX engine, which was used exclusively for Max Payne and Max Payne 2. Northlight is the same engine Remedy used for its recent hit Control, so that game’s superpowered gunplay and flashy visual effects could offer a hint of what the Max Payne remake will look and feel like. A notable graphics update could come in the form of ray-tracing, which the Northlight engine enabled on Control Ultimate Edition.
Control Ultimate Edition shows off the seriously impressive power of the Northlight engine.
What platforms will the Max Payne remake be released on?
The Max Payne remake will be exclusive to the current console generation, plus PC. That means PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will get the remake, but not PS4 or Xbox One. Even discounting the new engine and any other possible changes, the leap in console hardware should mean a significant upgrade for the Max Payne games, which were originally released on PS2 and Xbox.
Will the Max Payne remake be an Epic Games Store exclusive?
Remedy Entertainment has an existing publishing deal with Epic Games, which made Control’s PC version exclusive to the Epic Games Store for the first year after its 2019 release. Because of that deal, it may be possible that Max Payne remake will be locked to a single PC storefront.
Neither Remedy nor Rockstar commented on exclusivity in the game’s announcement. Given that Rockstar has its own digital storefront, the Rockstar Games Launcher, it’s likely that the Max Payne remake will at least be available to purchase there on PC.
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