Max Payne has reached its 25th anniversary, marking a quarter-century since Remedy Entertainment released the original neo-noir action game on 25 July 2001. The article highlights its lasting influence on third-person shooters, particularly its popularisation of “bullet time” slow-motion action, and notes that Remedy is now developing remakes of the first two games.

Created and written by Sam Lake, the game followed New York detective Max Payne after the murder of his family, with Lake providing the character’s likeness and James McCaffrey voicing him. It initially launched on PC before reaching PlayStation 2 and Xbox, later spawning two sequels; the third, released by Rockstar in 2012, remains the most recent entry. The author also notes that Remedy did not publicly mark the anniversary.