The Matrix influenced Max Payne

While Remedy Entertainment designed Max Payne’s slow-motion gunplay independently starting in 1997—inspired primarily by John Woo—the mechanic’s iconic name, "Bullet Time," was coined to capitalize on The Matrix's release two years earlier. The player manually slows down time to dodge and aim while fully-modeled bullets trace visible paths through the air, and Remedy successfully marketed the game by leaning heavily into the massive Matrix cultural hype.