The Release Date for MAX PAYNE 3 gets Pushed to May

Rockstar Games announced today that the release date for Max Payne 3 has been pushed back from March to May. The exact date was announced as being May 15th for North America and May 18th for the rest of the world for the Xbox 360 and PS3. Then there's the North American PC release, which is scheduled for the 29th, and the international date for that is June 1st. 

Chairman and CEO of Take-Two, Strauss Zelnick tries to smooth things over with the gamers in a statement saying,

We do not take changes to our release schedule lightly, and this short delay will ensure that Max Payne 3 delivers the highest quality, groundbreaking entertainment experience that is expected from our Company, Max Payne 3 promises to be one of our most exciting releases to date, and we are confident that consumers will once again be amazed by Rockstar’s ability to take interactive entertainment to another level.

They are expecting this game to be a huge hit, according to the report "The delay moves MP3 from the fourth quarter of Take-Two's 2012 fiscal year to the first quarter of their 2013 fiscal year. The result is that they expect a net loss for 2012. They estimate it will reduce their net revenue during that year by $210-230 million. This gives you an idea of how big of a splash they expect the game to have when it ultimately hits stores."

The third game in the franchise follows New York Detective Max Payne who's decided to leave the States. He ends up working private security for Brazilian industrialist Rodrigo Branco and his family. Of course the new job isn't as quiet as he'd hoped, though. Rodrigo's wife is kidnapped by criminals and Payne is drawn into a war between Sao Paulo's various factions. 

Are you excited about Max Payne 3?