Rockstar's Vancouver studio the developer of Bully the recently-released award-winning game for PS2 takes over from Remedy for third installment of ex-NYPD vigilante.

For fans of Max Payne, it has been a long wait since 2003. Later during the season 2004 there was a rumor for a sequel, when Take-Two hinted that a follow-up would eventually arrive. However in 2008, the Take-Two chairman Strauss Zelnick once again mentioned the franchise, teasing that another installment may be in the works but again providing no firm details.

And now, Take-Two and its Rockstar Games subsidiary have announced that Max Payne 3 is indeed in development and scheduled to come out on this Q4 on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC. Remedy which is the actual developers of the first two Max Payne titles, is currently developing 'Alan Wake', which will be published by Microsoft. 

Max Payne 3 tells the story of a retired police detective embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence. The award-winning Max Payne franchise put players in the role of Max Payne, a hard-boiled New York City detective with a penchant for violence, out to avenge the death of his family. The latest installment delivers more of the classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love, while moving the story of Max in a new direction. 

Rockstar did not open any specific gameplay details, and did not mention the series' genre-defining "bullet time" slow-motion technique. The publisher merely noted that "the latest installment delivers more of the classic elements and hyperintense action that fans have come to love." 

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," Rockstar cofounder Sam Houser commented in a statement. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation." 

Since leaving the NYPD and New York itself behind, Max has drifted from bad to worse. Double-crossed and a long way from home, Max is now trapped in a city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out.  So buddies, Max is back! New face. New style.