Max Payne (2001): the original game, its ports and the mobile version
New York, 2001: a murdered family, a drug called Valkyr and a detective set on finding out who is behind it. Remedy’s original, from the 2001 PC release to the 2012 phone port.
2001
New York, three years after
Three years after addicts high on a designer drug called Valkyr killed his wife and newborn daughter, Max, a former NYPD detective now with the DEA, is undercover inside the Punchinello mob. Framed for a murder, he ends up hunted by the police and the mob at once. Remedy told the story in comic-book panels with voice-over and built the gunfights around bullet time, one of the first games to use the slow-motion effect The Matrix had made famous.
Versions
PC first, then everything else
Rockstar brought the game to PlayStation 2 on December 11, 2001 and to Xbox on December 18; a Mac OS X version, published by MacSoft, followed on July 16, 2002. On the PS2 the levels were cut into smaller pieces to fit the console’s memory, with less detail than on PC or Xbox. The Game Boy Advance version, out December 16, 2003, changes the most: Möbius Entertainment rebuilt it as an isometric shooter that keeps the story, many of the comic panels and some of the voice acting.
Today
Where to play it today
It returned on Xbox 360 as an Xbox Original in 2009, on PS3 as a PS2 Classic in 2012 and on PlayStation 4 in 2016. As of September 2026 the US PlayStation Store lists that PS4 version, which adds trophies and 1080p rendering and also runs on PS5, though the store warns that some PS4 features may be missing there; the Xbox store lists the game for Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S, where the whole trilogy became backward compatible on November 15, 2021; and Steam carries it on PC. HowLongToBeat puts the main story at about 8 hours and everything at about 11½.
Max Payne Mobile
The phone version
Announced on April 6, 2012 to go with Max Payne 3, Max Payne Mobile is the PC game ported by War Drum Studios, with HD graphics as the only big change. It came to iOS in April 2012 and to Android on June 14, 2012. As of September 2026 the App Store’s latest version is 2.0 from October 17, 2018, rated 18+, and Google Play shows an update from June 2, 2026; the Android listing names select USB gamepads among supported controllers.
More on the series
- Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max PayneGame
- Max Payne story and characters: from New York to São PauloArticle
- Max Payne cheats: codes, unlocks and trainersGuide
- Max Payne on PC: requirements, fixes and controllersGuide
- Max Payne 1 & 2 Remake: release date, platforms and newsGame
- Max Payne, the 2008 movie: cast, plot and where to watch itArticle
Playing it on a modern PC?
On Windows 10 and 11 the 2001 original may need a sound fix, and a widescreen fix for modern screens — the PC page collects them.
Max Payne on PC