Max Payne 3 game delayed by two months, says Take-Two

The latest game in the Max Payne series has been delayed by two months.

Max Payne 3 was due to be released in March but now won't hit shelves in the UK until May.

It's published by Rockstar Games, which is owned by Take-Two Interactive Software.

The company said it expected revenues for the current financial year to be hit by around £145 million because of the delay.

"We do not take changes to our release schedule lightly," said Strauss Zelnick, Chairman and CEO of Take-Two.

"This short delay will ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality, groundbreaking entertainment experience that is expected from our company."

Fans of the series have already had to wait nearly 10 years for this latest instalment.

Since 2003's Max Payne 2, a film featuring the character was released, starring Mark Wahlberg and Mila Kunis.

'Valuable brand'

The latest edition is set several years after the previous game.

It sees the former New York police officer relocate to start his life over in Sao Paulo, where things go from bad to worse for him.

Alex Simmons, the UK editor of video games website IGN.com, told Newsbeat Max Payne is a valuable brand that Rockstar will want to protect.

"If that game's released and it was substandard it would essentially mean they could never release in that franchise again.

"I think that's important to Rockstar, that they want to make it the best it can be."

But he added there could also be financial reasons behind the delay.

"It wouldn't surprise me if someone, somewhere said, 'Look, we need a little bit more time to polish the game, but also we need a really big hit in the financial year 2013,' so this works for both."

Although Simmons said that two months wasn't too long compared with GTA IV's six-month delay - which was also published by Rockstar - he said most fans would find it annoying.

"Yes it's frustrating but having played [Max Payne 3] quite a lot already I think it'll definitely be worth the wait."

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