Summary
- The budget for the Max Payne remakes is on par with that of Alan Wake 2, Remedy said.
- The remakes are hence estimated to cost around $55 million, not accounting for their marketing expenses.
- Remedy expects the Max Payne remakes to enter active production by mid-2024, which it previously estimated would take up to two and a half years to complete.
The remakes of the first two Max Payne games have a budget on par with that of Alan Wake 2, Remedy Entertainment has revealed. This insight into the much-anticipated Max Payne project has been shared along with a new status update on its progress.
The Finnish developer originally announced the remakes of Max Payne 1 and 2 in April 2022. Back then, the project was described as still being in a concept stage, which started as soon as Rockstar, the owner of the IP, agreed to finance its development.
Remedy Gives Update on Max Payne Remake and Release Window
For the first time in over a year, Remedy provides new details regarding the Max Payne remake, including a potential release window.
And while Remedy has been describing the upcoming reimaginings as a AAA initiative from day one, the studio has now shared some new insight into the exact size of the budget that Rockstar had approved. As part of Remedy's latest financial report for the fourth quarter of its fiscal year 2023, the company revealed that the Max Payne remakes have been treated to a "similar development budget as Alan Wake 2."
Max Payne Remakes Will Cost Around $55 Million to Make
According to recent analyst estimates, the total development costs of Alan Wake 2 have been in the ballpark of $75 million. However, that figure also includes marketing expenses, which are projected to have been around $21.5 million. Remedy's latest financial report hence implies that Rockstar earmarked roughly $55 million for the development of the Max Payne remakes.
While there is no doubt that a triple-A release of this sort will also have a sizable marketing budget, Remedy's Alan Wake 2 comparison likely didn't account for it. That's because Rockstar is the one who will be publishing the remakes, with the implication being that the GTA maker will be handling all related marketing costs directly, making them not part of Remedy's stated project budget. The studio previously confirmed that the two reimaginings are planned to be released as a single game, which made many fans hopeful that the Max Payne remakes would offer great value for money.
Max Payne Remakes Likely To Enter Active Development Soon
Remedy's latest earnings report also offered yet another update on the status of the Max Payne remakes. The Finnish studio said that its team has made "considerable progress" on the upcoming games throughout 2023, and that it expects them to "advance to the next stages of development" together with Condor and Control 2 in the first half of 2024. Back in October, Remedy said that the Max Payne remakes have entered pre-production, so this latest update implies that the games are finally on the verge of starting active development no later than early summer 2024. Between that and the studio's past development estimates, a late 2026 or early 2027 release seems to be on the cards for the Max Payne remakes, assuming no major delays take place.
Max Payne
- Released
- July 23, 2001
WHERE TO PLAY
Max Payne is a man with nothing to lose in the violent, cold urban night. A fugitive undercover cop framed for murder, hunted by cops and the mob, Max is a man with his back against the wall, fighting a battle he cannot hope to win. Max Payne is a relentless story-driven game about a man on the edge, fighting to clear his name while struggling to uncover the truth about his slain family amongst a myriad of plot-twists and twisted thugs in the gritty bowels of New York during the century's worst blizzard.
The groundbreaking original cinematic action-shooter, Max Payne introduced the concept of Bullet Time® in videogames. Through its stylish slow-motion gunplay combined with a dark and twisted story, Max Payne redefined the action-shooter genre.
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ due to Blood, Violence
- Developer(s)
- Remedy Entertainment
- Publisher(s)
- Gathering of Developers
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS2, Xbox (Original), Nintendo Game Boy Advance, Android, iOS
- Genre(s)
- Third-Person Shooter
