Remedy Entertainment has made clear that it cannot say much about the combined Max Payne 1 & 2 remake, even though the project has been in full production for roughly a year. In its half-year financial report published on August 11, 2026, the studio pointed fans back toward Rockstar Games, which handles publishing and owns the underlying rights.
Quick answer: Remedy is developing the remakes, but Rockstar controls publishing and marketing, so any new details, trailers, or a release date will come from Rockstar and not Remedy.
What Remedy actually said
During its report to investors, Remedy acknowledged the steady stream of public questions about the project and then declined to answer them. The reason is simple. Rockstar sits on the publishing side, so Remedy has no room to speak about timing or reveals.
“There’s a lot of questions concerning Max Payne; on that game, Rockstar Games is handling the publishing side, so we can’t comment on those questions.”
It is an underwhelming update, but not a surprising one. The messaging matches what Remedy has said for years about this particular partnership, where its role ends at development and Rockstar owns everything that reaches the public.
The response landed exactly as long-time fans expected, and the reaction online was immediate.
Why Rockstar controls the reveal
Remedy created Max Payne, but it no longer owns it. The studio sold the intellectual property to Take-Two Interactive, Rockstar’s parent company, back in 2002. Rockstar later developed Max Payne 3, released in 2012, and it still holds the rights today.
That ownership is the whole reason Remedy stays quiet. Under the current arrangement, Rockstar finances the remakes, publishes them, and runs the marketing. Remedy earns a royalty opportunity only after Rockstar recoups its development, marketing, and distribution costs. This is very different from Remedy’s other big title, Control Resonant, which the studio is self-publishing and can freely discuss.
| Role | Who handles it |
|---|---|
| Development | Remedy Entertainment (Northlight engine) |
| Publishing and marketing | Rockstar Games |
| IP ownership | Take-Two Interactive / Rockstar |
| Funding | Rockstar Games |
| Public reveals and timing | Rockstar Games |
Where the remake stands in development
The two classic games, Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, are being rebuilt as a single title. The project entered full production in early 2025, and Remedy has repeatedly described its collaboration with Rockstar as close and productive. Development uses Remedy’s proprietary Northlight engine, the same technology behind Control and Quantum Break.
The remakes are planned for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. There is no confirmed release date. The path so far has moved through concept development, proof of concept, production readiness, and now full production, a stage that can run for a couple of years depending on scope and polish.
When a real update is likely
Rockstar’s attention is fixed on GTA 6, which is set to launch on November 19, 2026. That release is the company’s dominant priority, so a fresh Max Payne reveal before then is improbable. Once GTA 6 is out the door, Rockstar has the room to turn back toward the neo-noir remakes and share more.
Note: No official date or window for the next Max Payne update has been confirmed. Treat any specific timing you see elsewhere as unverified until Rockstar says otherwise.
The physical release question
Timing also affects how you might buy the game. If the remakes launch after January 2028, a standard PlayStation disc is very unlikely, because the format is being phased out for new releases. In that scenario, the most physical option available would be a code-in-the-box rather than a playable disc.
Take-Two has already signaled comfort with a digital-only direction, with CEO Strauss Zelnick backing GTA 6’s digital-only approach during the company’s August 7 earnings call. For now, the delivery format for the Max Payne remakes depends entirely on when Rockstar decides to ship them.
The takeaway is straightforward. The remakes are being made, work is ongoing, and Remedy is confident in the team. Everything you are waiting to see next, from trailers to a date, sits with Rockstar, and it will move on its own schedule.
