Max Payne 3 in Russia. What the game could have been like if it had been released in the mid-2000s

The third Max Payne was released in 2012, nine years after the release of the second game. However, development of the threequel had already begun in 2005 at Rockstar Vienna. The studio's screenwriters planned for the action to take place in the Russian capital. However, their ideas were never developed. In this article, we'll cover everything we know about the original version of Max Payne 3.

The first two games in the series were developed by the Finnish studio Remedy. Both games are third-person shooters. They are reminiscent of John Woo films and The Matrix trilogy, with adrenaline-fueled shootouts and the ability to slow down time. The plot and atmosphere, however, are inspired by classic film noir, with voiceover monologues, femme fatales, and a desperate protagonist with nothing left to lose.

Although the events of the duology took place in New York, Max had to deal with the Russian mafia along the way. In the first game, its representatives aided a former police officer in his fight against the Italian Punchinello clan. In the sequel, the gang, led by Vladimir Lem, became Payne's enemies.

The company was founded in 1993 and was known as Neo Software Produktions GmbH until 2003. Among the team's early projects are the role-playing game Whale's Voyage, the heist simulator The Sting!, and the fantasy real-time strategy game The Nations.

In 2001, the studio was acquired by Take-Two Interactive, and two years later it became a division of Rockstar. During this period, it was involved in the ports of the first Max Payne, the third GTA, and Vice City to the original Xbox, as well as the console versions of the second Max Payne. It also assisted with the development of Manhunt 2.

On May 11, 2006, Rockstar Vienna was disbanded by the publisher. A few months later, its employees formed a new team called Games That Matter Productions GmbH, which was later acquired by Deep Silver.

According to the information we have, development of the third Max Payne began in 2005. We learned of the first concept art in 2019. It was published by artist Johannes Mucke, who worked at Rockstar Vienna. He personally confirmed that the drawings are directly related to Max Payne 3. They feature characters labeled Boris, Angel, and Butcher, as well as a character with two UZIs. This could be Max Payne.

The new images were published on the Artstation website in the profile of artist Imkan Hayati, who also collaborated with Rockstar Vienna. Unfortunately, most of them show only bland offices and warehouses.

Our attention was drawn to a drawing of Russian cars. One of them is registered in the 77th region, that is, Moscow. Apparently, this is the city where the main events of Max Payne 3 were supposed to take place.

You can also see a reference to the second part of the series in the form of Vinnie Gogniti's favorite suit. It was the one he died in.

The Moscow State University (MSU) building is visible in the background. Further confirmation that the game was planned to take place in the Russian capital.

The images of the overpass match the concept art that was previously published. It's highly likely that one of the shootouts took place on a busy highway. It's possible that this was the cause of the accident, the results of which are visible in the art.

We don't have any specific plot information. However, it's safe to assume that Władysław Lem's death didn't go unnoticed. Other members of the Russian mafia wanted to find the man who turned against their man in New York. It's possible that they killed someone dear to Max, and Payne decided to deal with the gangster who gave the order. That's why he had to go to Moscow.

But instead, the former cop found himself in sunny Brazil.

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Would you like to see Max Payne's adventures in snowy Russia? Or do you think this idea is a bad idea? Share your thoughts in the comments!