R* Reveals details of persistant multiplayer across Max Payne and GTAV

If Rockstar's Dan Houser has his way, a multiplayer revolution will ensue with the upcoming launches of Max Payne 3 and Grand Theft Auto V. As you might suspect, Rockstar is looking to redefine expectations for what an online multiplayer experience can provide and in a recent interview with IGN, Houser let it be known that both upcoming high-profile games will take advantage of the company's Social Club in a rather unique way.

To understand what Houser and the team at Rockstar hope to accomplish though, you must first understand the problem they see with the current state of multiplayer gaming – an issue Houser addressed in his interview with IGN.

"Multiplayer, particularly in competitive first-person shooters, has almost completely forsaken any kind of story or attachment to character," stated Houser. "We wanted to keep the sense of competition that comes from multiplayer but we wanted to bring back a better sense of character, rather than just being a faceless member of an army."

In a nutshell, that's Rockstar's inspiration for Gang Wars, the mode at the hear of Max Payne 3's multiplayer component that attempts to advance people's expectations by giving more definition to the spontaneous type of narrative you'll experience in each round.

Today, we find out that within that will be a system called Crews. Max Payne 3 will be the first title to implement this system which aims to realize the potential Rockstar sees in third-person multiplayer and the attachment it can create to particular characters, stories and worlds. Going beyond what's possible via your 360 or PS3 friends list, Houser explained that Crews are groups of players that you can join up with via the Social Club that deliver benefits both in-game and out. Best of all though, crews persist over time and even across future games, with Houser confirming that the Crews players create in Max Payne 3 will be readily available to play as in Grand Theft Auto V from day one.

Nice.

Hmm, need to see this in action I think

Isnt this allready out and called APB