Created by and initially modeled after the likeness of Sam Lake, Max was introduced in an eponymous 2001 video game developed by Remedy Entertainment.

Inspired by the antiheroes of hardboiled fiction, Max is a weary and cynical ex-NYPD officer who becomes a vigilante and uncovers various criminal conspiracies.

[3] He was modeled after Sam Lake (Sami Järvi), who wrote the game's story and script for the Finnish company Remedy Entertainment.

Due to having a much larger budget this time, the developers were able to hire professional actors, choosing Timothy Gibbs to be the new model for Max.

"[4] Payne's look changed significantly for the third game, featuring an older, bald and bearded Max; this move received overwhelmingly negative reactions.

[1] He is an extreme introvert and his life is largely illustrated through dramatic and often morbidly cynical soliloquies describing his feelings about his actions and situation.

[11] However, he has not nullified his feelings, as he is taken with the femme fatale contract killer Mona Sax when they first meet, and befriends the Russian mobster Vladimir Lem.

[13] Rockstar vice-president Dan Houser described Max Payne in the third game as "a drunk, somewhat morose, widowed ex-cop, trying to find some kind of peace with himself.

[16] In the original game, set between 1998 and 2001, Max Payne (voiced by James McCaffrey) is a former New York City Police Department (NYPD) homicide detective whose wife Michelle and six-month-old daughter Rose were brutally murdered in a home invasion connected with the investigation of a new street drug known as Valkyr.

Eventually, framed for the murder of his NYPD and DEA partner Alex Balder, and with his identity exposed, Max becomes a fugitive and vigilante wanted by the Mafia and the police alike while waging his personal war on the crime.

Max begins investigating a series of murders by a shadowy group of contract killers called the Cleaners, who are trying to kill all members of the Inner Circle.

[3] After Rodrigo's wife is kidnapped, Max and Raul discover and then destroy a human organ harvesting ring involving local street gangs, right-wing vigilante militas and a corrupt Brazilian police tactical unit.

[16] In the film adaptation, loosely based on the plot of the first game, Max Payne (played by Mark Wahlberg) is a NYPD cop seeking revenge against his family's killers.

[1] When Mark Wahlberg first read Beau Thorne's script he thought it was "awesome" but became wary after finding out it was based on a video game.

"[19] 3D Realms' Scott Miller, however, said Max Payne was poorly portrayed in the film, falling short of the game's standards.

"[27] Max has also been polled by the public in lists of the top video-game characters of all time,[28][29] with Gulf News attributing his popularity with fans to "his no-nonsense, take-no-prisoners attitude.

"[3] Max is included in many video game journalism articles ranking characters by various traits, ranging from manliness to lucklessness.

[39] The character's initial design changes during the long development cycle of Max Payne 3 brought severe criticism from the fan community as well as the media;[40][41][42][43] UGO commented that "his suave, noir look got booted by trailer trash sensibilities" and blamed Obadiah Stane, Bam Bam Bigelow, John McClane and Kerry King for being "most responsible for Max's new style.

"[44] Keith Stuart of The Guardian opined that, with the third game, Rockstar succeeded in turning "its ex-cop anti-hero into a credible character," even as there is a "slight disconnect between the shambling Max of the cinematic sequences and the athletic psychopath we control in the interactive sections.