Max Payne 3 has beaten Diablo III to the number one spot in this week’s UK charts.

The gap between the two games was by 8,000 units.

It’s the first number one for the Payne series, making a return eight-and-a-half years after the Remedy-developed Max Payne 2, with MP3 outselling MP2 by a figure of 10-1. It’s also the biggest launch of this year so far, beating Mass Effect 3.

On a platform breakdown, a majority of sales for Max went to Xbox 360 at 58%, while the remaining 42% are on PS3. The PC version releases next Friday in the UK.

The Blizzard RPG will have to settle for second behind the Rockstar shooter, despite becoming the 12th biggest PC launch in the UK ever and selling more than the past two Football Manager games.

Last week’s number one Sniper Elite V2 falls to four behind FIFA Street, while FIFA 12 rounds off the top five.

Full top ten for the week ending May 19 is below. Last week’s data is here.

1 – Max Payne 3

2 – Diablo III

3 – FIFA Street

4 – Sniper Elite V2

5 – FIFA 12

6 – Prototype 2

7 – Modern Warfare 3

8 – Battlefield 3

9 – Assassin’s Creed: Revelations

10 – Mario and Sonic at the London Olympics