Mad Max (2015 video game)

Mad Max
Cover art featuring protagonist Max Rockatansky and his Magnum Opus
Developer(s)Avalanche Studios
Publisher(s)Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment[a]
Director(s)Frank Rooke
Producer(s)John Fuller
Designer(s)Magnus Nedfors
Programmer(s)Fredrik Lönn
Artist(s)Martin Bergquist
Writer(s)Odd Ahlgren
Composer(s)Mats Lundgren
SeriesMad Max
Platform(s)
ReleasePS4, Windows, XOne
  • NA/UK: 1 September 2015
  • AU: 2 September 2015
  • NZ: 3 September 2015
  • EU: 4 September 2015
Linux, macOS
  • WW: 20 October 2016
Genre(s)Action-adventure, vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player

Mad Max is a 2015 action-adventure video game developed by Avalanche Studios and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Based on the Mad Max franchise, the game follows Max Rockatansky as he progresses through the wasteland building a vehicle, the Magnum Opus, to battle against a gang of hostile raiders led by Scabrous Scrotus and reach the storied "Plains of Silence", where he hopes to find peace. Mad Max emphasizes vehicular combat, in which players can use weapon and armor upgrades on their car to fight enemies. It is set in an open post-apocalyptic wasteland consisting of deserts, canyons, and caves.

Two other Mad Max games, developed by Cory Barlog and Interplay Entertainment respectively, were in production before the announcement of this game, but neither of them were successfully released. Although Mad Max is not based on a specific film in the series, it was inspired by its universe, features locations that appear in the films, and franchise co-creator George Miller was consulted during the game's pre-production. Avalanche Studios found developing a vehicular-combat video game a challenge because of their inexperience with creating that type of game. Unlike Avalanche's previous games like the Just Cause series, Mad Max had a more mature tone. The game was re-tooled a year into development, as the studio pivoted from making Mad Max a linear experience to an open world game.

Announced at E3 2013 and originally planned for release in 2014, Mad Max was released in September the following year, several months after the theatrical release of Mad Max: Fury Road, the fourth film in the series, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. Feral Interactive published the game's Linux and macOS versions, while the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were canceled. Mad Max received mixed reviews from critics. Although the game's environment, direction, vehicular combat, and graphics were praised, its quest design and story were criticized.
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