Developer change?

Rockstar also published the port versions, like PS2 and Xbox for the first game.

From what I gather from Wikipedia, it just seems it was Rockstar's intention to start a new chapter with this game.

And I think Remedy just give them their approval to make it, knowing that their work on it will just be as good as when they do.

quote

We’ve been blessed with being able to actually see the game and give some feedback. We’ve been meeting with Rockstar and looking at Max 3 – it looks absolutely phenomenal – the nice thing is we’ve been giving our feeling on the game but at the end of the day we don’t have to do any of the heavy lifting, which is nice. Rockstar don’t make bad games, so you already know it’s going to be good. Just like we hope the Remedy brand is a seal of quality, you know that Rockstar’s brand is a seal of quality. It’s been nice to be part of the process, but we don’t want to take any of the limelight. From what we’ve seen it’s going to be absolutely fantastic.

Oskari Hakkinen, Remedy Entertainment franchise development head.[16]

And it's also Dan Houser who's writing the story for this game this time, well known for his writing on the GTA series, and Red Dead Redemption.

I can only guess the game is in good hands.

Remedy seems atleast pleased with Rockstar's take on the game, and Rockstar Games usually bring out good quality games.

The game might be different from their previouse games, and maybe fans of the series have somehting to say about it, but I'm guessing Rockstar's aim is to keep it like a Max Payne game should be, but with a little Rockstar element to it.

Personaly when Rockstar is making a game, I'm certain they do a great job on it.
It's one of the biggest game companies in the world along with Konami and such.
They have plenty of resources and teams to find for the best positions to get the right things done the way they wished it and aim for.
I'm sure this game wont be disappointed, but even so, it all comes down to what the gamers think of it when the game is released in a couple of months, so I guess it's wait and see.