Former Rockstar Vice President and writer Dan Houser has stated that he believes Max Payne 3, which he worked on, did not meet commercial expectations. Despite critical praise, the 2012 title underperformed and was not a significant hit with players.
Houser, speaking as part of IGN's 30 Icons Series, reflected on the development of the third installment in the Max Payne series. He acknowledged that while he enjoyed the process and felt the team created a "really cool digital noir experience" with its structured, cinematic approach, the game's reception among players was not what he anticipated. "The consensus at the time was that people hated it," Houser stated. "So I got that completely wrong. I know Sam Lake [creator of Max Payne] well, and he's a very good guy and really talented. I thought we'd done a good job of doing another Max Payne game. Some people liked it; lots didn't. So we got it wrong, or I got it wrong. I failed. My bit was not a success. The game is beautifully made, and it wasn't as successful as it should have been. So I would say a large amount of that failure was on me as one of the people making the decisions and also as the writer, when people really missed his writing."
Max Payne 3 is noted for its tonal departure from Remedy Entertainment's earlier, noir-influenced New York-set games. Rockstar's iteration traded the gloomy, introspective atmosphere for a more high-octane, colorful, and action-packed approach set in Brazil. While some players and critics questioned this shift, Houser expressed his continued affection for the game, highlighting its polish and the enduring satisfaction of its signature bullet time mechanic.
Work on Remedy's own remakes of the first two Max Payne games is reportedly in full production, with the studio maintaining a close and productive collaboration with Rockstar Games. Meanwhile, Rockstar is focused on the upcoming release of Grand Theft Auto 6, slated for November 19.