Perhaps hoping to finally affix a permanent brand to the month of May after two previous successful launches in the month of May, Rockstar Games has today announced that Max Payne 3 has slipped from its original release date this March to the month in which Rockstar has typically released its games over the last few years.

The reason for the slipped date wasn't given (it never is, really), but it's not altogether surprising given the generally slippery nature of Max Payne's development history to date, not to mention the previous successes Rockstar has had launching titles in and around the month of May. Both Red Dead Redemption and L.A. Noire all but owned the month in terms of sales upon their releases, and while Grand Theft Auto IV technically came out at the very end of April, its sales numbers through the month of May acted like a flag of ownership, planted firmly in the month's dirt to scare away any other would-be claimants.

Now Max Payne 3, a sequel with a lengthy and somewhat contentious--at least insofar as fans are concerned--development history will be the latest title in the publisher's catalog to claim May in the name of Kings Houser. Whether or not the move will make Max Payne 3 as successful as the publisher's previous releases remains to be seen, but it absolutely can't hurt, considering it's just slipped out of a month that includes the releases of Mass Effect 3, Street Fighter x Tekken, Ninja Gaiden 3, something like a dozen different Silent Hill games, and oh hell let's just assume Diablo III too, because hey, it could happen, right?