Thank the noir gods this announcement came well and truly clear of April Fools, because I'd chalk this one up to the realms of "things I didn't expect to hear anytime soon" as far as these two gaming giants working together again is concerned. But as the headline states, Max Payne creator Remedy has entered into an agreement with Rockstar Games to remake the first two entries in its iconic series.

And we highlight remake because it's a significant distinction against a re-release or an update to an older game, and a lot of development learning and growth has happened at Remedy in the time between its last Max outing and now, with seminal releases in Alan Wake, Quantum Break and most recently (as far as original IP is concerned), Control.

The news also comes by way of a statement from the studio itself, which you can check out below:

Remedy Entertainment, the creators of Max Payne, are pleased to announce that they will remake the iconic Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne video games in a new development agreement with Rockstar Games.

The relationship between Remedy and Rockstar Games dates back to the original release of the critically acclaimed Max Payne and Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne games, developed by Remedy and published by Rockstar Games. Both games left an indelible mark in popular culture, lauded for their neo-noir atmosphere, groundbreaking storytelling and “bullet-time” gunplay.

“We were thrilled when our long-time friends at Remedy approached us about remaking the original Max Payne games,” said Sam Houser, Founder of Rockstar Games “We are massive fans of the work the Remedy team has created over the years, and we can’t wait to play these new versions.”

“Max Payne has always held a special place in the hearts of everyone at Remedy, and we know the millions of fans worldwide feel the same,” said Remedy CEO, Tero Virtala. “We’re hugely excited to be working with our partners at Rockstar Games once again for the chance to bring the story, action and atmosphere of the original Max Payne games back to players in new ways.”

Under the development agreement signed today, Remedy will develop the games as a single title for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S using its proprietary Northlight game engine. The game’s development budget will be financed by Rockstar Games, the size of which will be in line with a typical Remedy AAA-game production. Under the agreement, Remedy has a royalty opportunity after Rockstar Games has recouped its development, marketing, and other costs for distributing and publishing the game.

The project is currently in the concept development stage.

The fact Remedy finishes with stating we're only at the "concept development stage" in the projects' lives is telling, as this will likely be a little ways off. But we also can't help but get all tingly at the idea they seem to have a pretty hefty budget, will be using the incredible Northlight Engine, which powered both Quantum Break and Control, and have a pretty transparent business model.

There's a lot of history here between these two companies, but it's such a significant move as far as publishing goes, the mind can't help but wonder if we might see a renaissance of publishing where Rockstar is concerned... the mind does tantalisingly wander.

Stay tuned for more on this development as it becomes available.