Rockstar London

Rockstar London Limited
Subsidiary
Industry Video game industry
Founded 21 November 2005 (2005-11-21)
Founder Mark Washbrook
Headquarters London, England
Parent Rockstar Games

Rockstar London Limited is a British video game developer based in London, England. The company was established through Mark Washbrook in November 2005, as a subsidiary of Rockstar Games and based within the latter's European publishing offices on King's Road in Chelsea, London. The new studio's first project became finishing Manhunt 2, a game that was formerly developed by defunct Rockstar Vienna in May 2006, but completed and released in October 2007.

Rockstar London's second game, Midnight Club: L.A. Remix, was an adaptation of Rockstar San Diego's Midnight Club: Los Angeles for PlayStation Portable. Both games released alongside in October 2008. Washbrook left the company in January 2011. In 2012 and 2013, respectively, Rockstar London has worked in conjunction with all other Rockstar Games subsidiaries to develop Max Payne 3 as part of collaborative effort Rockstar Studios, and assist Rockstar North with their Grand Theft Auto V.

History

Take-Two Interactive, the parent company of Rockstar Games, announced on 21 November 2005, that they were opening a development studio, Rockstar London.[1][2] The company would become part of the Rockstar Games family, and located within Rockstar Games' eponymous (though later renamed Rockstar International) European publishing offices on King's Road, in London's Chelsea area.[3] The foundation was led by Mark Washbrook, who also became the new company's studio head.[4]

In May 2006, Rockstar Vienna, one of Rockstar London's sister studios, was shut down by Take-Two Interactive.[5] At the time, the studio was developing a sequel to Rockstar North's 2003 game Manhunt, the development of which was then transferred to Rockstar London.[6] Manhunt 2 was officially announced as Rockstar London's debut title in February 2007,[7][8] and released in October 2007.[9] Their next title became Midnight Club: L.A. Remix, a PlayStation Portable adaptation of Rockstar San Diego's Midnight Club: Los Angeles, which was in development at the same time.[10] The game was announced in April 2008, together with the September 2008 release dates of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, which would also apply for L.A. Remix.[11] However, in July 2008, Rockstar Games announced that Midnight Club: Los Angeles had been delayed into October 2008, with L.A. Remix also adapting to the rescheduling.[12] After the game was released, GamesRadar+ editor Andy Hartup described it as "the best racer to go portable in 2008".[13]

In June 2008, Rockstar London was announced as a finalist for the "Best New UK/European Studio" award at the 2008 Develop Industry Excellence Awards,[14][15] though lost to Doublesix.[16] In January 2011, founder and long-time studio head of Rockstar London, Mark Washbrook, announced that he had resigned from the company.[17][18] His leaving coincided with that of Mark Lloyd, former studio head of Rockstar Lincoln.[19] Rockstar Games reassured that neither departure would affect projects in development at their studios at the time.[20][21] While Washbrook went on to work with Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Lloyd founded his own video game consultancy service, Titanium Consultancy, which was later voluntarily wound down.[4] In May 2012, both Washbrook and Lloyd signed with Activision to work for their mobile-focused Activision Leeds studio.[22] Later renamed The Blast Furnace, the studio also hired Gordon Hall, founder and former president of Rockstar Leeds, in August 2012, combining three former Rockstar Games studio executives in one company.[23]

For the 2012 game Max Payne 3, Rockstar London was announced to lead the development alongside Rockstar Vancouver, Rockstar Toronto and Rockstar New England, with the project later turning into Rockstar Studios, a collaboration spanning all Rockstar Games subsidiaries.[24] Rockstar London has most recently contributed to Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto V, which was released in 2013.

Games developed

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s) Notes
2007 Manhunt 2 Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii Rockstar Games Took over development from Rockstar Vienna in 2006
2008 Midnight Club: L.A. Remix PlayStation Portable Adaption of Rockstar San Diego's Midnight Club: Los Angeles
2012 Max Payne 3 macOS, Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 Developed as part of Rockstar Studios
2013 Grand Theft Auto V Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, Xbox One Support developer for Rockstar North

References

  1. ↑ Loughrey, Paul (22 November 2005). "Rockstar London establishes new development studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  2. ↑ Gamespot Staff (22 November 2005). "Rockstar to open London studio". GameSpot. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  3. ↑ Carless, Simon (21 November 2005). "Rockstar To Open New London Development Studio". Gamasutra. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  4. 1 2 Martin, Matt (22 May 2012). "Ex-Rockstar bosses working with Activision Leeds studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  5. ↑ Hatfield, Daemon (2 November 2007). "Manhunt 2 Blackballs Rockstar Vienna". IGN. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  6. ↑ Carless, Simon (1 November 2007). "Manhunt 2 Gets Rockstar Vienna Crediting Controversy". Gamasutra. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  7. ↑ Carless, Simon (6 February 2007). "Rockstar To Debut Manhunt 2 For Wii, PS2, PSP". Gamasutra. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  8. ↑ Kuchera, Ben (8 February 2007). "Manhunt 2 coming to the PS2, PSP, and... Wii?". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  9. ↑ Bangeman, Eric (24 August 2007). "Manhunt 2 will see Halloween release date after getting M rating". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  10. ↑ brianek (8 October 2008). "Midnight Club: LA Remix Preview". GameSpot. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  11. ↑ Webster, Andrew (21 April 2008). "Midnight Club: Los Angeles gets date, PSP version". Ars Technica. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  12. ↑ Villasenor, Justin (3 July 2008). "Midnight Club: Los Angeles runs into a delay". Destructoid. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  13. ↑ Hartup, Andy (20 October 2008). "Midnight Club: LA Remix review". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  14. ↑ Media & PR (5 June 2008). "Develop Awards finalists revealed". MCV. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  15. ↑ GamesIndustry International (5 June 2008). "Develop Industry Excellence Awards 2008". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  16. ↑ GamesIndustry International (31 July 2008). "Develop Awards 2008". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  17. ↑ Hillier, Brenna (27 January 2011). "Rockstar bids farewell to two studio heads". VG247. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  18. ↑ Reilly, Jim (26 January 2011). "Rockstar London Studio Head Exits". IGN. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  19. ↑ Alexander, Leigh (27 January 2011). "Rockstar London Studio Head Resigns". Gamasutra. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  20. ↑ French, Michael (27 January 2011). "Two Rockstar UK dev execs depart". Develop. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  21. ↑ Meer, Alec (27 January 2011). "Exit for Rockstar London and Lincoln studio bosses". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  22. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (22 May 2012). "Report – former Rockstar London bosses sign on with Activision Leeds". VG247. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  23. ↑ Orry, James (9 August 2012). "Former head of Rockstar Leeds joins Activision's mobile studio". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
  24. ↑ Totilo, Stephen (6 October 2011). "We Watched them Play Max Payne 3 , and We Were Very Impressed". Kotaku. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
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