Before it was known for Alan Wake and Control, Remedy Entertainment was best known for its work on the Max Payne games. Remedy developed the first two games in the ground-breaking third-person shooter series, with Rockstar Games taking over for Max Payne 3. Now it seems fans will soon have the chance to revisit the first two Max Payne games, as Remedy and Rockstar have announced a partnership to remake both Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne.
Max Payne fans should expect much more than a simple upgrade. The Max Payne remakes will be full-blown AAA video game productions, with Rockstar Games providing the budget and Remedy handling development. The games will be built using Remedy's Northlight engine, which it used to make the critically-acclaimed Control.
It sounds like Remedy Entertainment is looking to really go all out with the Max Payne remakes, as the games will be skipping PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The Max Payne remakes, whenever they come out, will only be available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S consoles, and PC. This should allow Remedy to have a lot more freedom when it comes to the remakes' graphics and what can be accomplished from a gameplay standpoint.
It remains to be seen exactly when these Max Payne remakes will be shown off, as this seems to be a relatively new deal between Remedy and Rockstar. Not only that, but both companies are currently busy on other projects at the moment. Rockstar is still producing new content for Grand Theft Auto Online while working on Grand Theft Auto 6, and Remedy is busy with multiple projects, including the upcoming Alan Wake 2.
It likely depends on how ambitious the scope is for these new Max Payne projects and if they wind up taking priority over the other games that Remedy has started. The Alan Wake 2 release date is expected to be sometime in 2023, so that game is likely deep in development at this point, but one has to wonder if Remedy's other, less-developed titles may get pushed aside so that it can focus on the Max Payne remakes. Nothing to that effect has actually been announced and so it's just speculation at this time, however.
Given how impressive Remedy Entertainment's work has been lately, with Control winning numerous awards in the year of its release, it will definitely be exciting to see what it is able to pull off with the big budget Max Payne remakes.
Max Payne remakes are currently in development for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
