Max Payne is a neo-noir third-person shooter video game series developed by Remedy Entertainment (Max Payne and Max Payne 2) and Rockstar Studios (Max Payne 3). The series is named after its protagonist, Max Payne, a New York City police detective turned vigilante after his family was murdered by drug dealers. The series' first and second installments were written by Sam Lake, while Max Payne 3 was primarily written by Rockstar Games' Dan Houser.
The first game of the series, Max Payne, was released in 2001 for Microsoft Windows and in 2002 for PlayStation 2, Xbox, and Apple Macintosh; a different version of the game was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. A sequel entitled Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne was released in 2003 for PlayStation 2, Xbox and Microsoft Windows. In 2008, a movie adaption, loosely based on the original game, entitled Max Payne, was released, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis in the roles of Max Payne and Mona Sax, respectively. Max Payne 3 was developed by Rockstar Studios and released on May 15, 2012 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and on June 1, 2012 for Microsoft Windows.
The franchise is notable for its use of "bullet time" in action sequences, as well as being positively received by critics, although Max Payne 2's sales were considered underwhelming. As of 2011, the Max Payne franchise has sold over 7.5 million copies. The film rendition received negative reviews but was commercially successful.