Rockstar is creating a multiplayer bridge between Max Payne 3 and its future titles including GTA 5. This week, the studio revealed to IGN that it is using Max Payne 3 as a launching pad for a new “Crews” system that would allow friends and strangers to band together via Rockstar's Social Club to gain team-based perks throughout the studio's games.
"The beauty of this system is that crews persist over time and across future games. Multiplayer is an ever-more important part of all our games moving forward. And by creating crews through Social Club, the crews that you create in Max Payne 3 will be ready and available for you to play in Grand Theft Auto V from day one,” explained Rockstar's Dan Houser, adding, “It's all part of our larger approach to make multiplayer deeper and richer than what's currently available, much more easily accessible to the newcomer and rewarding for the hardcore."
More than a glorified gaming party, members of these Social Club gangs will gain bonuses for pulling off in-game actions that benefit their individual crews. For instance, avenging the death of a crew member from one game in another may earn extra XP, while picking fights with members of an opposing crew during an unrelated free-for-all will also increase one's standing. Max Payne 3 will also introduce a Vendetta feature, whereby players can mark a rival crew member for death and either receive both points for exacting revenge, or give the enemy extra experience if they fail to gun them down.
"We are firm believers in the potential of third-person multiplayer and the attachment it can create to character, stories and worlds. This is at the heart of what we're doing with crews, and we think it opens up limitless new possibilities for the future. It's right at the heart of our goal to bring greater weight and context to multiplayer games while still staying true to what competitive multiplayer does so well," insisted Houser.
Crews will be part and parcel of Max Payne 3's multiplayer offerings. Learn what else Rockstar has cooking for its online revolution in our preview, max Payne 3 multiplayer details - a chat with the lead designer.
