Rockstar Games, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in New York City, established in December 1998 as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. It is comprised of studios that have been acquired and renamed as well as others that have been created internally, including the Grand Theft Auto series' developer DMA Design (rebranded as Rockstar North). While many of the studios that Take-Two has acquired have been merged into the Rockstar brand, several other recent ones have retained their previous identities and have become part of the company's 2K Games division.
The Rockstar Games label was founded in 1998 by Sam Houser, Terry Donovan, Dan Houser, Jamie King and Gary Foreman. Donovan, King, Foreman, and Dan Houser have since left the company, leaving Sam Houser as the sole remaining co-founder in a leadership role.
The company is most known for publishing Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt series. Other popular franchises from different studios and published by Rockstar Games include Red Dead, Midnight Club, L.A. Noire and Max Payne.
Based in Leeds, England. Previously known as Mobius Entertainment and are based in the Stanningley district of Leeds. They helped create the three PSPGTA games and the PC version of L.A. Noire as well as Max Payne for the Game Boy Advance and the music game Beaterator.
Based in Lincoln, England. Quality assurance and localization studio, formerly Tarantula Studios. As Tarantula studios, the studio ported the early Grand Theft Auto games.
Based in London, England. Formed in November 2005. Took over as the main developer for Manhunt 2 after the game's original developer Rockstar Vienna closed in 2006. Also incorporates Rockstar International, with a focus on publishing and marketing.
Based in Andover, Massachusetts. Formerly Mad Doc Software. Incorporated in 2008, they are best known for their development on Empire Earth III and Bully: Scholarship Edition.
Based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The most prominent development team at Rockstar Games. Previously known as DMA Design, they are famous for their work on the Grand Theft Auto series and Manhunt.
Based in Carlsbad, California, a suburb of San Diego. Previously known as Angel Studios, they developed the RAGE engine as well as Midtown Madness, Midnight Club, Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption, Test Drive Off Road: Wide Open as well as the newly released and critically acclaimed prequel, Red Dead Redemption 2.
Based in Oakville, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto. Take Two's in-house development team, previously known as Rockstar Canada. Their most well-known work is their adaptation of the cult classic film The Warriors, the PC version of Grand Theft Auto IV and Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.
Based in Dundee, Scotland. Previously known as Ruffian Games, they are best known for their development on Microsoft's Crackdown 2 and helping develop Halo: The Master Chief Collection. They have also previously worked with Rockstar North, though on currently unknown projects.
Based in Pyrmont, Sydney. Previously known as Video Games Deluxe, they are currently the newest addition to Rockstar Games' list of studios. They are best known for their development on L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files and being the primary developer of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition for mobile devices.
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The team behind multiplayer modification projects for Rockstar Games titles, including Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2. Their partnership with Rockstar Games is focused on their FiveM and RedM platforms. [1]
Based in Tokyo, Japan. The studio was founded in 2003. Worked in conjunction with developer Capcom on Japanese localizations of numerous games by Rockstar. The studio has since been dissolved.
Based in Vancouver, British Columbia. Previously known as Barking Dog Studios. They have released Bully. The studio closed in July 2012, where the remaining staff was transferred to Rockstar Toronto.
Based in Vienna, Austria. Previously known as neo Software; closed on May 11, 2006. Worked on Max Payne and Max Payne 2 and the Grand Theft Auto: Double Pack as well the original developer for Manhunt 2.
Rockstar Studios
"Rockstar Studios" redirects here. For a list of development studios owned by Rockstar Games, see Category:Rockstar Games studios.
While most games published by Rockstar Games are the result of collaboration between multiple development studios, some titles are credited to a single studio as the main developer. More recent titles have listed development as "Rockstar Studios" or simply "Rockstar Games".
The name "Rockstar Studios" was first used in the reveal trailer for Max Payne 3, collectively credited as the game's developer.[2] In later collaborations, they are simply credited as "Rockstar Games".[3][4]
Prior to Max Payne 3
The first major collaboration occurred during the development of Manhunt 2 between 2003 and 2007, after the project was handled over to Rockstar Vienna and was being conceived under the supervision of Rockstar North, as the latter was focusing their efforts in the development of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. The Rockstar Vienna studio closed in mid-development, and the project was subsequently concluded by Rockstar London, Rockstar Leeds and Rockstar North; however, each studio is individually credited rather than being credited as "Rockstar Studios".
In 2011, development assistance was provided to Australian game developer Team Bondi by Rockstar's North, Leeds, San Diego, and New England studios during the late development of L.A. Noire.
Subsequent to Grand Theft Auto IV
Following the release of Grand Theft Auto IV by Rockstar North, all subsequent games published by Rockstar Games were developed by multiple Rockstar studios at once, while being conceived under the supervision of each franchise's main developer. Rockstar North's Grand Theft Auto V received development assistance of multiple Rockstar studios, although only the original developer is credited as the producers during the game's marketing.
Max Payne 3
“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 [Payne] 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.”
“As the work on the game accelerated, the company began to realize that the process of working as a group of distinct studios wasn’t the best approach on so complex a game. So they began to become a single, massive entity essentially. As "Red Dead Redemption 2" wrapped up, it did so with a singular group not distinguished as Rockstar North or Rockstar Lincoln, but simply as Rockstar Games.”
— Interview with Rockstar North Head of Development Rob Nelson on Variety.[6]
Collaborations
Various other video game developers have worked on Rockstar Games' products, either independently or alongside Rockstar Games, particularly focusing on different ports and editions of existing titles.
Bungie, of Halo fame, developed the game Oni. Before Bungie was bought by Microsoft, Oni was to be released on PC, Mac, and PlayStation 2, with Rockstar as the game's publisher.
Capcom had early development in Rockstar San Diego's Red Dead Revolver and currently owns the publishing rights to the Grand Theft Auto series in Japan.
Dubtitled, in collaboration with Mic Neumann on State of Emergency and Grand Theft Auto series.
Video Games Deluxe developed L.A. Noire: The VR Cases and Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition (original versions and primary developer for the Netflix mobile versions).
Za Studios provided new character animations for Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition.
Rockstar Games are credited as executive producers of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas' short prequel film "The Introduction", Sunday Driver and The Football Factory.
Rockstar's logo consists of a black 'R' and a white star on a yellow background. Rockstar Games has a habit of placing the logo within their games as a form of Easter Egg.
The only studio with a separate webpage is Rockstar North, Rockstar's primary development studio. All other previous studio websites redirect to Rockstar Games' Careers page.
