Following yesterday’s delisting of several titles – which quickly returned without issues – Rockstar Games has released free updates for Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire. Along with deprecating support for 32-bit systems, both updates make all of the previously released paid DLC free. This doesn’t include L.A. Noire’s VR Case Files, mind you.

Still, there’s quite a lot of additional content especially for those who have never tried either game. Max Payne 3’s DLC includes multiplayer maps, the classic Max Payne skin, new weapons, new modifiers for Arcade Mode, and even some co-op modes. All content for L.A. Noire was already included with the Complete Edition, so it’s unclear why this explicit change was made.

Regardless, this is all similar to last year’s changes to Grand Theft Auto 4, which was delisted on Steam but returned with Games for Windows Live removed and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City included. For more details on Max Payne 3 and L.A. Noire, check out our respective reviews here and here.

Though it’s been rumoured for a while now, is this a case of Take Two preparing for the eventual sequel? Or is it simply a matter of trademarking the badge, perhaps for use at a latter time? We’ll find out over the next few months.

Take-Two CEO Strauss Zelnick stated that,”Our commitment to delight consumers with the highest-quality interactive entertainment experiences enabled Take-Two to have an outstanding year, despite a challenging environment for many in our industry.”

Given that the game was a great critical success, and has since seen several DLC packages for multiplayer, it was astounding to hear that Rockstar Vancouver had been shut down after the game’s release. Several employees were reportedly shifted to different studios while others had to fend for themselves.

As the third game in the series, Max Payne 3 saw a much older Payne working to unravel the conspiracy surrounding the kidnapping of wealthy client Rodrigo Branco’s wife.

CEO E-Xpress Interactive Anand Khemani talked about the price drop, stating that, “Max Payne as a Franchise has a huge fan following in India.

“Max Payne 3 made a come back after 6 years and as we had expected it was very well received by the Indian Audience. The game is one of the highest selling title in India for 2012 after the Price drop we expect the sales to pick up again.”

Despite the game’s critical and commercial accolades, Rockstar Vancouver was shut down following down-sizing efforts by parent publisher Rockstar Games. It still has a healthy amount of DLC available, so there’s no shortage of multiplayer maps and modes.

Check out our review of Max Payne 3 on the PS3, where we gave the game a 9 out of 10.

Canal de Panama, Marty’s Bar, Roscoe Street Subway & Shoot First are the four new maps, which hark back to Max’s past, with the subway being seen in the original Max Payne. The two new maps from the Panama chapter also allow for new Gang Wars scenarios.

Of course, there are also two new factions, De Marcos Abroad and United Souls of the People, along with new weapons such as the UAR-21 assault rifle, IMB 5.56 assault rifle, and new items such as the Calculator adding more kills as you assist allies; the Betting Slip, that increases your money count as team-mates log kills; and the Hip Flask which protects you from a single sniper bullet when you respond and counter-acts the effects of Hangover Burst.

According to the press release:

Issue #3: “Fight and Flight” brings Max’s story full circle, revealing more about his days as a young cadet and aspiring police officer, his early successes on the force, and ultimately to the events that led to his chance meeting with Passos in Walton’s Bar during Chapter 4 of Max Payne 3.

This issue was written Dan Houser and Sam Lake of Remedy. Fernando Blanco handles the pencils and inks for this issue. Does it feature bullet time and heaps of bloody violence? Not much hope for the former, but in terms of the latter, well, it is Max Payne after all.

You can catch up to the series by clicking here. You can also view them via iPhone & iPad through iTunes or Android through ComiXology and ComicsPlus.

The move has been made to focus attention on Rockstar Toronto, though it’s anyone’s guess as to what The Warriors developer will be upto in the coming months. Rockstar has expressed interest in maintaining the team however.

As a result, the all 35 people of Rockstar Vancouver will be offered positions at Rockstar Toronto. They will also be adding 50 new positions to the Toronoto office in the coming months.

For now, all persons concerned seem to stil be employed. They’ll be shifting to a new office in Oakville, Ontario.

Aside from the recently released Max Payne 3 and the previous generation’s open-world Bully, Rockstar Vancouver was earlier known as Barking Dog Studios, responsible for Homeworld Cataclysm and Global Operations for PC before being acquired by Rockstar in 2002.

Source: Gamasutra