Summit1g sets a new Max Payne 3 speedrun world record

I will argue all day long that Max Payne 3 is every bit as good as the first two games in the series (which were great) and easily up to the very high standards of developer Rockstar. Despite my own enthusiasm, though, it didn't live up to public expectations, and the series has been moribund for the past decade.

That sort of thing doesn't matter when it comes to speedrunners, though. One of the great things about the hobby is that a game's popularity isn't really a factor: Old, even forgettable games like SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom can be just as interesting to speedrun (and watch) as contemporary hits—more so, in some cases, as obscure games often have weirder gimmicks for speedrunners to exploit.

Which brings us to Summit1g, one of the top streamers on Twitch with 5.9 million followers, who recently set a new world record for Max Payne 3 on "hardcore" difficulty in the any%, glitchless, cutscene skip subcategory—that is, any percentage of the game complete, not taking advantage of any glitches to move ahead faster than normally possible, but skipping cutscenes where possible. (If you're curious about the different category options, you can learn more on the Speedrun.com knowledge base.)

In practical terms, it means that Summit1g had to play through the entire game, rather than taking advantage of bugs or exploits to bypass segments. Getting through that quickly requires serious accuracy—he's very good at making running headshots—which puts a priority on pistols and SMGs over heavier hardware. He bypasses enemies who can't be dealt with quickly, too, although that's a risky strategy that occasionally results in a bullet in the ass.

It was a close thing: Summit1g's time of 1:30:52 is only six seconds quicker than the previous record holder, ThirstyHyena, who set a 1:30:58 mark just a month prior. It's close enough that I wouldn't be at all surprised to see ThirstyHyena make a quick attempt at reclaiming the crown, but the job of setting new records is definitely getting tougher: As you can see in the image below, the time cuts have grown increasingly smaller over the past year.

Max Payne 3 speedrun world records — (Image credit: Speedrun.com)

The new Max Payne 3 world record comes just ahead of the annual Summer Games Done Quick event, which begins on July 4. Max Payne 3 won't be a part of this year's show, but Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne will be, from 12:58 – 1:48 am ET on July 5. (GDQ schedules are incredibly tight—you can check out the full itinerary here if you'd like to see for yourself.)

If you've got some time to kill and want to watch Summit1g's full Max Payne 3 world record speed run, it's up in full on Twitch. And if you just want to see what happens after Max tells Victor Branco that he'll walk with a limp, you can see the full game ending sequence below.

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Thanks, GameRant.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.