Rockstar Vancouver is working on the next installment of the Max Payne series for PS3, Xbox 360 and PC. Set for Winter 2009, the next game in the franchise will feature a retired Max, more cynical and downtrodden than ever before.

"Developed by Rockstar Vancouver, Max Payne 3 tells the story of a retired police detective embroiled in a world of corruption, turmoil and intense violence," states Rockstar. "The latest installment delivers more of the classic elements and hyper-intense action that fans have come to love, while moving the story of Max in a new direction."

"We're starting a new chapter of Max's life with this game," says Rockstar founder Sam Houser. "This is Max as we've never seen him before, a few years older, more world-weary and cynical than ever. We experience the downward spiral of his life after the events of Max Payne 2 and witness his last chance for salvation."

The new game sees Max retired and moved away from New York, but he is double-crossed and left stranded in a "city full of violence and bloodshed, using his weapons and instincts in a desperate search for the truth and a way out."

Max Payne = One really unlucky bastard.