Wikipedia

Rockstar North

Rockstar North(Rockstar Games UK Limited;formerlyDMA Design Limited) is a Britishvideo game developerand a studio ofRockstar Gamesbased inEdinburgh.The studio is best known for creating theLemmingsandGrand Theft Autoseries, includingGrand Theft Auto V,thesecond-best-selling gameand most profitable entertainment product of all time.

Rockstar Games UK Limited
Rockstar North
Formerly
  • DMA Design Limited(1988–2002)
  • Rockstar Studios Limited(2002)
  • Rockstar North Limited(2002–2021)
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
Founded1988;37 years ago(1988)inDundee,Scotland
FounderDavid Jones
Headquarters
Edinburgh
,
Scotland
Key people
Andrew Semple(studio director)
Products
Number of employees
650 (2018)
Parent
Websiterockstarnorth.com

David Jonesfounded the company as DMA Design in 1988 in his hometown ofDundee.During his studies, he had developed the gameMenaceand struck a six-game publishing deal withPsygnosis,which releasedMenacein October 1988. While making its sequel,Blood Money,Jones dropped out, hired several of his friends—includingMike Dailly,Steve Hammond, and Russell Kay, whom he had met at the Kingsway Amateur Computer Club—and opened the company's first offices above a formerfish and chip shopin 1989. Following the successful 1991 release ofLemmings,the studio rapidly expanded and moved into proper offices, after which Kay left to establishVisual Sciences.SeveralLemmingsexpansions and sequels later, 1994'sAll New World of Lemmingswas DMA Design's final game in the series and its last with Psygnosis.

After many projects from partnerships withNintendoandBMG Interactivestalled or were cancelled, Jones sold the financially stricken studio toGremlin Interactivein April 1997. The subsequentspin-offof DMA Design's satellite studio inBoulder, Colorado,triggered Hammond's departure. Following the commercially successful release ofGrand Theft Autoin November 1997,Take-Two Interactivebought the game'sintellectual propertyand formed Rockstar Games, whileBody Harvest's underperformance led Gremlin Interactive to be taken over byInfogrames.In September 1999, Take-Two acquired DMA Design, which then worked closely with Rockstar Games to releaseGrand Theft Auto 2.Amid these changes, Dailly left for Visual Sciences, while Jones foundedDenkiandReal Time Worlds.

A few months after an Edinburgh branch was established for DMA Design, the prior Dundee location was closed.Grand Theft Auto III,the firstGrand Theft Autogame presented fully in 3D, was released in 2001 and sold 6 million units in one year. Considered genre-defining, the game gave rise to a number ofGrand Theft Autoclones.Take-Two integrated DMA Design with Rockstar Games as Rockstar Studios in March 2002, which was renamed Rockstar North in May. Since then, the studio has continued theGrand Theft Autoseries withGrand Theft Auto: Vice City(2002),Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas(2004),Grand Theft Auto IV(2008), andGrand Theft Auto V(2013), as well as a number of smaller games in the franchise. Rockstar North also createdManhuntin 2003 and collaborated with other Rockstar Games studios onManhunt 2(2007),Red Dead Redemption(2010),L.A. Noire(2011),Max Payne 3(2012), andRed Dead Redemption 2(2018).

History

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Background and formation (1983–1988)

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Among the core members of the early DMA Design team were (from left to right) Russell Kay,Mike Dailly,Steve Hammond, Gary Timmons, andDavid Jones(pictured in 2011).[1][2]

Having frequently playedSpace Invadersin his youth, Rockstar North's founder, theDundeenativeDavid Jones,gained earlyprogrammingknowledge when his secondary school, Linlathen High, obtained anApple IIcomputer and pilotedO-levelqualifications incomputer studies.[3][4]In 1983, after leaving school, he took up an apprenticeship at the local plant of the electronics manufacturerTimex.Although the company was best known for producing watches, the Dundee factory also builthome computersforSinclair Research,including theZX81andZX Spectrum,which had boosted interest in hobbyist programming in the area.[3][5]Timex employees could buy subsidised ZX Spectrum units, and the company paid for programming courses at the localKingsway Technical College.[3][4][6]

The college also hosted the Kingsway Amateur Computer Club (KACC), where attendees—including Timex employees and local youths—had to bring their computers, usually ZX Spectrum machines.[3][6]Jones was the oldest member at the KACC, where he soon befriended Steve Hammond and Russell Kay.[3]Mike Daillyjoined the club at the recommendation of a friend in 1984 with theCommodore Plus/4he had received for Christmas. He was the youngest attendee at 14 years old.[3][7]The quartet bonded over their shared interest in creating games instead of playing orcloningexisting ones.[3][4]During their time at the KACC, Dailly and Hammond developedFreek Outfor the Commodore Plus/4, which they finished and sold to the publisher Cascade for "a modest fee", while Jones and Kay cooperated onMoonshadowfor the ZX Spectrum, which was eventually released asZone Trooper.[3][6]Jones and Dailly also worked onThe Game With No Name.[6]

As Sinclair Research's market share dropped significantly during 1986, the Dundee Timex plant enacted layoffs.[3]Jones accepted avoluntary redundancyfor£3,000,a roughly half-year salary that he invested into anAmiga 1000,and subsequently enrolled incomputer scienceat theDundee Institute of Technology(DIT).[6][8]Hammond also attended the DIT, and all four soon joined its computer club.[9]Because Jones easily passed the course's first year, he had much time to learn to programme for the Amiga and spent one year creating theshoot 'em upCopperCon1.[3]Working out of his parents' bedroom, he provisionally used the monicker "Acme".[6]The game featured graphics by thedemoscenemember Tony Smith, with whom he communicated by post, and sounds Dailly and Hammond recorded from aSalamandermachine at a localarcade.[3][10]At thePersonal Computer World Showtrade event, Jones met with representatives of several publishers—includingGremlin Graphics,Hewson Consultants,Ocean Software,and the nascentPsygnosis—to demonstrateCopperCon1.[3]While all reacted positively, Hewson Consultants and itsAndrew Braybrookwere the most enthusiastic about the game and quickly agreed to publish it. However, after it was showcased in thePopular Computing Weeklymagazine with the titleZynaps,Jones wanted to avoid his game only becoming the Amiga version ofthe ZX Spectrum gameand walked away from the agreement.[2][3]

Instead, he turned to Psygnosis, visiting itsLiverpooloffices in 1987 and agreeing to a six-game publishing deal.[2][3]CopperCon1was renamedDraconia,which was ultimately changed toMenacebecause the name was too similar toDraconus.[3][11]Jones also agreed to bring Psygnosis'sBallistixfrom the Amiga to theCommodore 64,for which he engaged Dailly and Hammond.[9][12]In his search for a company name to replace the already taken "Acme", Jones discussed alternatives with the members of the DIT's computer club in 1988.[2][6][9]Among others, "Milliard", "Visual Voyage", and "Alias Smith and Jones" (in reference toMenace's artist) were floated, and Jones finally settled on "DMA Design".[2][3]The abbreviation "DMA" stood for "direct memory access"in Amiga manuals but carried no meaning in the company name.[13]While "Direct Mind Access" was official briefly, Jones eventually began stating that the abbreviation was short for "Doesn't Mean Anything".[2][3][9]He formally founded DMA Design in 1988, when he was 22 years old.[14][15][16][17]

Initial games with Psygnosis andLemmings(1988–1994)

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DMA Design inaugurated its first offices on 134B Nethergate inDundee(top; pictured in 2005) in August 1989.[12][18]A plaque commemorating the twentieth anniversary ofLemmingswas installed in February 2011.[19]

Menacewas released in October 1988 after 18 months of development.[20][21]It was DMA Design's debut game and the first game under Psygnosis's Psyclapse label for budget-priced games.[3]Jones only received£0.75for every copy sold, which he retrospectively viewed as a "terrible" deal. Still, the 20,000 sales allowed him to buy aVauxhall Astracar and regularly visit the Psygnosis offices to meet other game developers.[3][6]While working on a sequel toMenace,the difficulty of Jones's university programme spiked, leading him to drop out and pursue game development full-time, against the advice of his professors.[3][22]He intended to return after one year but never finished his studies, eventually receiving anhonorary degree.[13][17]Jones hired Dailly, who had just been expelled from college, as the first employee in 1989. Dailly began working on a Commodore 64 conversion ofMenace.[2][3][6]Hammond joined second on a part-time basis as he continued his education, followed shortly by Kay and Brian Watson, one of Jones's university friends.[2][6]TheMenacesequel,Blood Money,was released in April 1989.[23]It sold 40,000 copies.[2][3]Gary Timmons joined the studio shortly after the game was completed, while Dailly developed its Commodore 64 version and began working on aPC Engineport ofShadow of the Beastfor Psygnosis.[2][12]DMA Design also madeShadow of the Beast's Commodore 64 port and the PC Engine andMS-DOSversions forBallistix.[2][21]

Jones's father-in-law, the owner of the Dundeefish and chip shopThe Deep Sea, lent him a small office space above the shop's former location at 134B Nethergate in Dundee.[18][24]Theinfillbuilding, built in 1893, is sometimes called the Wee Pink Nethergate House.[18]The office was inaugurated on 1 August 1989.[18][24]The studio continued to expand, also hiring many students to work part-time.[3][25]In 1990, DMA Design cancelled several projects: TheGolden Axe-inspiredGore!was shelved due to technical restrictions of the Amiga at the time and theplatformerCutiepoodid not make adequate progress after one year of work by the freelance programmer Tony Colgan.[2][26]Jones further put aside his gameWalkeras he found he could not achieve his vision for it and stopped working on the Monster Cartridge, acheat cartridgefor the Amiga, after another such product was released first.[2]

Working remotely from Edinburgh, the programmer Ian Dunlop and artist Neill Glancy were directed to experiment with the technology fromWalker.[3][27]When Dailly learned that they were working with characters just sixteenpixelstall, he challenged himself to create characters that were recognisable at half the height.[3]He spent a lunch break hour building a showcase animation of such characters walking in a line and being killed comically, to the amusement of the office. Kay remarked that a game could be created from this. Jones concurred and thought of a design in which the player should prevent the characters from being killed.[3][7]Kay wrote a demo before it was passed on to Dailly and later to Jones, who worked out the gameplay foundations with Timmons.[12]The game was namedLemmingsupon Kay's suggestion and released in February 1991.[3][24]It sold 55,000 copies on its first day and was swiftly brought to other regions and platforms.[3][6]Jon Dye, another former KACC attendee, was hired later that year to bring the game to the ZX Spectrum.[28]

Lemmingshad 20 million lifetime sales across 21 platforms.[6][29]At 25 years old, Jones became a millionaire and subsequently bought twoFerrariluxury cars.[8][13]The company rapidly expanded and began working on several additional projects.[3]As Psygnosis sought DMA Design to produceLemmingsexpansion packsand sequels in the wake of this success, the studio developedOh No! More Lemmings(1991),Lemmings 2: The Tribes(1993), andAll New World of Lemmings(1994).[2]It also made the Christmas-themedHoliday Lemmingsto be distributed for free oncovermountsin 1991 and 1992, before Psygnosis made it a commercial release for 1993 and 1994.[30][31]

By November 1992, DMA Design had grown to 22 staff, of which 10 were former classmates of Jones, and relocated to proper offices at the Dundee Technology Park.[17]As Kay left DMA Design in 1993 to formVisual Sciences,Jones and Dailly hired Keith Hamilton as a replacement and put him in charge ofAll New World of Lemmings.This entry focused on larger, more detailed lemmings, which Hamilton and Jones later believed diminished the game's charm.[32]In the same year, Psygnosis releasedWalker,which remained exclusive to the Amiga, andHired Guns,which had been created principally by Scott Johnston with a story by Hammond.[33][34]All New World of Lemmingswas the final game in Jones's original deal with Psygnosis. With the studio experiencing fatigue forLemmings,Psygnosis hired other developers for subsequent entries, including Kay and Visual Sciences forLemmings Paintball.[2][30][32]

Partnerships with Nintendo and BMG Interactive (1994–1997)

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After leavingLemmingsbehind, DMA Design began researching development for the3DO.[29]In another project, Psygnosis briefly had DMA Designemulatean in-developmentStar Warsgameon theSuper Nintendo Entertainment System(SNES).[35]During onetrade show,Jones caught the attention ofNintendowith afull-motion videoStar Warsclip running on the SNES, something previously believed impossible.[33][36]At the time, the company was seeking development partners for its upcomingNintendo 64console, which was then called Project Reality.[32][36]DMA Design signed a two-game contract—worth several million pounds—and joined Nintendo's "Dream Team" of external partners.[36][37]When this partnership was announced in April 1994, DMA Design was only Nintendo's second partner for the platform.[33][38]Using these funds, the studio grew to occupy 2,500 square feet (230 m2) of office space at the Dundee Technology Park and spent around£250,000outfitting all rooms with high-end devices.[37]The partnership also led DMA Design to cease developing for the 3DO.[29][33]The studio steered clear of other consoles, like thePlayStationandSega Saturn,because Jones disliked "multiformat publishing for the sake of it".[29]

DMA Design's first project for Nintendo wasUnirally,a racing game featuring animatedunicyclescreated using 2Dspritesrendered from a3D model.[39]Following the game's 1994 release for the SNES, the animation studioPixarsued Nintendo over perceived similarities between the game's characters and the unicycle protagonist from Pixar's 1987 animated short filmRed's Dream.[13][39]The judge ruled in Pixar's favour and the two companies agreed that Nintendo would cease the production ofUnirallycopies while Pixar was to receive a Nintendo 64game development kit.[12][39]Despite the ruling, the game sold 300,000 copies.[39]DMA Design continued working with Nintendo onKid Kirby,aspin-offin Nintendo'sKirbyfranchise made by Colgan after requesting a second chance from Jones.[2]The game featured a young version ofthe title character,who would have been launched around levels using theSuper NES Mouse.[40]In November 1994, a team of five people commenced developingBody Harvest,scheduled to be alaunch titlefor the Nintendo 64.[33][36]

In the meantime, Dailly was experimenting with ways to render 3D buildings from atop-down perspective.To showcase this technology, he devised a game that saw the player control a dinosaur and destroy the city. After adding cars to make the scene more lively, a colleague suggested having the player drive these cars instead.[41]Jones took notice of Dailly's project and passed it to a team that should turn it into a game.[12]The Liaison and Promotion Company, which had taken on marketing for DMA Design and its games in July 1993, presented the studio with potential partners for the project.[42]Jones consequently presented a prototype of the game, which became known asRace'n'Chase,toBMG Interactive,the recently formed games arm ofBertelsmann.[32][37]The two companies signed a£3.4 millioncontract in March 1995, wherein the studio would develop four games for the publisher.[42][43]According to The Liaison and Promotion Company, Jones had not informed the firm of the impending deal, instead claiming he would partner with another company, such asVirgin Interactive Entertainment.DMA Design and The Liaison and Promotion Company then severed ties just before the deal with BMG Interactive was finalised, and DMA Design refused to pay the marketing firm its share of the deal.[42]

The publishing agreement with BMG Interactive coveredRace'n'Chase,Space Station Silicon Valley,Tanktics,andCovert,the latter astealth gamein the style ofMetal Gear.[36]With the acquired funds, DMA Design intended to expand its offices and increase its 40-strong headcount with 42 additional hires, quickly growing to 130 people.[32][43]The company took over an additional 5,000 square feet (460 m2) of office space and expanded to two adjacent buildings, therein also setting up a£500,000motion capturestudio that found little usage.[44][45]Another section housed DMA Music with seven full-time musicians.[29]Race'n'Chaseformally entered into production in March 1995.[46][47]The development team consisted mostly of recent graduates with little development experience, with Hamilton as the lead programmer.[32]As such, the team was highly unorganised and struggled with the development untilGary Pennmoved from BMG Interactive to DMA Design as the game'screative directorandproducer.[46][48]BMG Interactive's production team, including the head of developmentSam Houser,was hands-off during the development.[32][46]

Body Harvestprogressed slowly and faced numerous delays, such that it missed its intended launch with the Nintendo 64.[2][36]Kid Kirbyand the climbing-themed action gameZenithalso stalled, and Nintendo cancelled the former following the low sales of the Super NES Mouse.[2][36]Furthermore, the American division of BMG Interactive regularly pushed forRace'n'Chaseto be cancelled because the team kept missing development milestones.[32][48]As the studio continued work on multiple games, several staffers believedBody Harvestwould be a bigger hit.[46]With DMA Design struggling financially, Jones kept agreeing to game projects solely to receive sign-on bonuses and with no plans to complete them. At one point, the studio had seven or eight projects in development at the same time.[36]In the latter half of 1996,GT Interactivesigned with DMA Design forAttack!andClan Wars,despite neither draft having a proper team assigned.[36]Jones also sold the rights toGrand Theft Autoto BMG Interactive to help keep the studio afloat.[32]In November 1996, DMA Design opened a satellite studio inBoulder, Colorado.[49][50]Anthony Harman was installed as the studio's manager, and it had 27 employees by April 1997.[51]

Sale to Gremlin Interactive (1997)

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Games will always be here.... If you do good games, they'll always sell well. What I like is that people are not daft anymore.... There was a time when you could sell anything in this business. Anything. That was more disappointing – when the business was bigger it was because of that. Times are hard now, making people focus more on quality and innovation which is great.

David Jones, founder of DMA Design, 1997[29]

The development onBody Harveststalled as Nintendo's Japanese headquarters and its American branch regularly made conflicting demands.[33][36]The team sought to keep up its relationship with Nintendo and caved in to these demands. Despite stark changes to the game's design, Nintendo was dissatisfied with the result and cancelled the game.[36]Still in financial disarray and wanting his company to focus on game development,[32][36]Jones arranged for Gremlin Graphics (since renamed Gremlin Interactive) to acquire DMA Design for£4.2 millionin April 1997.[14][52]The publisher was impressed with DMA Design's multi-use 3DMAgame engineand wanted the two companies to cooperate onresearch and development.[2]It also expected DMA Design to become profitable within two years of the acquisition.[53]Gremlin Interactive introduced several project management methods—includingMicrosoft ProjectandGantt charts—that the studio perceived as unnecessary bureaucracy. Additionally, the company made DMA Design finish games as quickly as possible, as opposed to Jones's prior methodology of releasing a game only once it is good.[36]Jones received a 5% stake in Gremlin Interactive and became a member of itsboard of directors.[22][54]He subsequently moved into the creative director role for DMA Design.[2]In May, the studio had 100 employees.[22]

DMA Design's satellite studio inBoulder, Colorado,was based near the Devil's Thumb rock formation it was later named after (pictured in 1996).

As another result of the acquisition, the Boulder studio wasspun offas a separate company.[1][55]Under Harman's continued leadership, it was renamedDevil's Thumb Entertainment.[50][56]The Boulder studio had been developing aremakeofHired Gunsfor Psygnosis with Hammond as the writer. Being more passionate about this project thanGrand Theft Auto,he left DMA Design to work on the remake in a freelance position, which he later said he regretted "ever since".[1][55]Devil's Thumb Entertainment also developedMike Piazza's StrikeZoneandTides of Warfor GT Interactive.[57]In March 1999, the studio was acquired and absorbed by the developer VR-1, also based in Boulder.[58][59]TheHired Gunsremake was never released.[60]

Two months after DMA Design's acquisition, Gremlin Interactive became apublic companyon theLondon Stock Exchange.[14][61]Jones's stake in the company was valued at£55 millionat the time.[22]Meanwhile, Bertelsmann had decided to withdraw from thevideo game industryand shut down the American division of BMG Interactive. In its place, the release in North America was licensed toASC Games.[32]Gremlin Interactive also picked up the rights toBody Harvestand engagedMidway Home Entertainmentas the publisher in North America.[2][62]ForTanktics,the North American publishing rights were sold toInterplay Entertainment.[63]DMA Design further negotiated back the rights toAttack!andClan Warsfrom GT Interactive.[64]

By July 1997, The Liaison and Promotion Company had sued DMA Design for£1.5 millionoverbreach of contractin relation to the deal with BMG Interactive.Lord Penrose,presiding over the case at theCourt of Session,then opined that the marketing firm had been pivotal in the deal being reached and that DMA Design had taken a "rather cynical action" by excluding it from the negotiations, asserting that the actions did constitute breach of contract.[42]Also in 1997, DMA Design became one of the founding members of the Scottish Game Alliance, alongside Creative Edge, Digital Animations, Inner Workings, Red Lemon Studios,VIS Interactive,and Visual Sciences.[65]Meanwhile, in November 1997, Jones helped the Dundee Institute of Technology (now called the University of Abertay Dundee) introduce an unprecedented computer games degree. In 1998, DMA Design developed games for agame designcourse at Dundee College.[1][66]

Sale to Take-Two Interactive (1997–2000)

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In the lead-up to the debut ofRace'n'Chase,now renamedGrand Theft Auto,BMG Interactive hired the publicistMax Clifford,who wanted to use controversy to market the game.Baron Campbell of Croywarned of the game at the United Kingdom'sHouse of Lordsin May 1997, and severaltabloid newspaperscalled for it to be banned in the country.[32]Grand Theft Autowas released in November 1997 and, despite mixed reviews, quickly sold 500,000 units and generated£25 million.[67]Visual Sciences developed the PlayStation port forGrand Theft Auto,which was largely programmed by Kay and produced by Houser.[1][32][68]The success diminished the focus on other games, particularlySpace Station Silicon Valley,and a sequel was soon greenlit.[69][70]Bertelsmann considered BMG Interactive's operations too expensive and decided to ramp down the division entirely. At the same time, the publisherTake-Two Interactivewas looking to grow its business and invited Houser to discuss his vision for game development.[69]As a result, Take-Two acquired BMG Interactive, since dormant, for 1.85 millionsharesworthUS$14.2 millionin March 1998.[69][71]Through the acquisition, Take-Two also obtained theintellectual propertyofGrand Theft AutoandSpace Station Silicon Valley,and it published the former's PlayStation version in North America later that year.[32][71]

Houser subsequently moved over to Take-Two as its "vice president of worldwide product development", in charge of internal and external development studios.[69]The company also incrementally purchased all individual publishing rights forGrand Theft Autofrom other companies to hold the exclusive rights to the game worldwide.[46]Body HarvestandSpace Station Silicon Valleywere released in late 1998 but were scarcely marketed, leading to meagre sales.[36]Houser and some of his former BMG Interactive colleagues joined Take-Two to form theRockstar Gamespublishing label in December 1998.[46]The newborn company commissioned its internal studio,Rockstar Canada,to develop two expansions for the original game,Grand Theft Auto: London 1969andGrand Theft Auto: London 1961,which were released in 1999.[46]

In March 1999, after less than two years on the stock market, the poor sales ofBody Harvestcontributed to dire financials at Gremlin Interactive that forced it into a£24 milliontakeover by the French publisherInfogrames.[14][72]During this year, Dailly left the company to join Kay at Visual Sciences as its head of research and development.[1][12]Under the new ownership, Gremlin Interactive published DMA Design'sWild Metal Countryin May andTankticsin June.[73][74]As Infogrames was more conservative and sought to produce child-friendly games, it did not wish to hold on to any assets related toGrand Theft Auto.[5][32]Take-Two Interactive bought DMA Design from the publisher in September 1999 for the nominal price of£1while assumingUS$12.3 millionin debt.[14][75]DMA Design henceforth worked closely with Rockstar Games, which Houser described as a "perfect match".[76]During these ownership and managerial changes, several projects were cancelled, includingAttack!,Grand Theft AutoandWild Metal Countryfor the Nintendo 64, and anUnrealversion for the64DD.[2]At the time of Take-Two's acquisition, DMA Design was working onGTA 3DandGrand Theft Auto: Online Crime World.[77][78]

Grand Theft Auto 2,published by Rockstar Games, was released in October 1999 and quickly sold more than 1 million copies, the first Take-Two game to do so.[79][80]Shortly thereafter, DMA Design established a satellite studio in theLeitharea of Edinburgh to house the former teams ofBody HarvestandSpace Station Silicon Valley.[46][81]Among those who relocated there wereLeslie Benzies,Aaron Garbut, and Obbe Vermeij, all of whom had worked onSpace Station Silicon Valley.[32][36]Under the direction of Andrew Semple, the branch launched with 25 people.[82]While the Edinburgh location continued to develop a 3DGrand Theft Autogame, now modelled afterDriver,the Dundee office was working on an expansion forGrand Theft Auto 2set inMiami,of which the former was ultimately prioritised and becameGrand Theft Auto III.[32]Jones was the last member of the original DMA Design team to work on this game.[2]However, unhappy with his studio being owned by an overseas company and failing to see eye-to-eye with Take-Two, he departed the company in early 2000.[2][32]With three other former DMA Design employees, he formed the game studioDenki.[83]In February, alongside an investment in Denki,Rage Softwarehired Jones to oversee its operations in Scotland.[84]Jones bought out Rage Software's Dundee studio in 2002 to formReal Time Worlds,which went on to hire many past DMA Design staffers.[2][10]

Rockstar Games released aDreamcastport ofWild Metal Country,renamedWild Metal,in February 2000.[85]Take-Two encouraged DMA Design to narrow its focus to fewer, larger game projects. Many staffers felt at odds with this shift, as it diminished the prior atmosphere they felt was driven by creativity.[46]The publisher closed the Dundee studio in March 2000, relocating many of the 35 staffers to Edinburgh and laying off the rest.[32][86]The move was to enable a merger between DMA Design, Rockstar Games, and Pixel Broadband Studios under the "Broadband Studios" name.[86]The combined entity would have largely leveraged Pixel Broadband Studios's online game technology.[87][88]Jim Woods, who had become the DMA Design'smanaging directorby this time, resigned as he wished to stay in Dundee.[86]The merger was ultimately abandoned, as wasGrand Theft Auto: Online Crime World.[89]

Grand Theft Autotrilogy and rebranding as Rockstar North (2000–2004)

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The "DMA Man" was DMA Design's longest-running logo. Designed by Stuart Graham, it was adopted in 1994 after winning an internal design competition and replaced in 2001 for the release ofGrand Theft Auto III.[90]

During the development ofGrand Theft Auto III,DMA Design again expanded rapidly, forming a core team of 20 people and engaging "dozens more" in some capacity.[91]The total team encompassed 60 people.[92]The team retained the focus on a mostly unconstrainedopen worldfrom the prior two games while introducing fully 3D graphics and athird-person view.[91][93][94]With much of the game planned out from the start, the development progressed smoothly. Upon its release for thePlayStation 2in late 2001, it became the best-selling game of that year, as well as the second-best in 2002.[91]The game sold 6 million copies within one year and more than 15 million in total, exceeding the development team's expectations.[94]Grand Theft Auto III's approach to 3D open worlds has been referred to as genre-defining and inspired a number of successful titles, also spawning the category ofGrand Theft Autoclones,which includesThe Simpsons: Hit & Run,True Crime: Streets of LA,Driver 3,andSaints Row.[93][95]

Plans to outfitGrand Theft Auto IIIwith anonline multiplayercomponent were scrapped in favour of a follow up,Grand Theft Auto: Vice City.[91]Conceptualised as an expansion pack forGrand Theft Auto III,Rockstar Games made it a standalone product as its scope expanded.Vice Cityreused its predecessor's engine, such that the programmers were not engaged until six months before the end of the production, and lessons learned from the previous development cycle allowed the designers to plan features more efficiently. In the meantime, the programmers worked on bringingGrand Theft Auto IIItopersonal computers.[94]In March 2002, DMA Design was renamed Rockstar Studios, which Houser described as the studio's "final integration" with Rockstar Games.[96][97]The name was revised to Rockstar North in May.[98]Vice Citywas completed in one year and released in late 2002.[94]For its work on the game, Rockstar North won the "best in-house development studio" and "creativity" awards at the firstDevelop Industry Excellence Awardsin August 2003.[99]

FollowingVice City's release, Rockstar North began work onZ,a zombiesurvival gameset on a Scottish island. The game repurposed code fromVice Cityand was in production for around one month before the concept lost traction at the studio.[100][101]The studio'sManhunt,a stealth game, was released in 2003 after roughly three years in development.[102]Due to its dark tone and focus on realistic violence, it was considered the studio's pet project, and most people at Rockstar Games wanted no part in it.[103]Rockstar North assistedRockstar Viennaand laterRockstar Londonin the production of a sequel,Manhunt 2,which entered into production in January 2004.[104][105]

Rockstar North'sGrand Theft Auto: San Andreaswas given one year of additional development time overVice City,which allowed the team to rework core parts of the gameplay and visuals.[106]It had a budget of less than$10 million.[107]By the end of the game's production, Rockstar North had relocated to offices on Calton Square in Edinburgh.[81][108]San Andreaswas released in October 2004. In four days, the game generated$101 millionand sold 2.1 million copies, 45% aboveVice City's initial sales.[109]Alongside several other year-end accolades,San Andreaswas named the "game of the year"at the 2004Spike Video Game Awardsand 2005Golden Joystick Awards.[110][111]Grand Theft Auto III,Vice City,andSan Andreaswere bundled asGrand Theft Auto: The Trilogyin 2006.[112]By 2008, they had amassed sales of 14.5 million, 17.5 million, and 21.5 million, respectively.[113]

Grand Theft Auto IV,Grand Theft Auto V,and development collaborations (2004–2013)

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AfterSan Andreas,Rockstar North began producingGrand Theft Auto IV.At the same time, the studio commenced the production of a stealth game calledAgent(codenamedJimmyin reference toJames Bond). A game with the same name and concept had previously been cancelled at the sister studioRockstar San Diego,and Benzies was interested in furthering the idea. The studio was split evenly between the two projects, althoughGrand Theft Auto IVwas soon prioritised overAgent.In 2009, the game was still planned as an exclusive title for thePlayStation 3.Itstrademarkwasabandonedin 2018, and the listing was removed from Rockstar Games's website in 2021.[100][101]Meanwhile, Rockstar North worked closely withRockstar Leedson threeGrand Theft Autogames forhandheld game consoles:Liberty City Stories,Vice City Stories,andChinatown Wars.[114][115][116]

Grand Theft Auto IV's production encompassed 220 people at the studio and 1,000 worldwide. Benzies estimated the budget at$100 million.[117]Upon its April 2008 release,Grand Theft Auto IVbroke the record for the highest revenue for a game within one day at$310 millionfrom 3.6 million copies sold.[118]At the 2008 Spike Video Game Awards, the game won "game of the year" and earned Rockstar North a nomination for "best studio".[119][120]The studio continued with two expansion packs—The Lost and DamnedandThe Ballad of Gay Tony —which were later bundled asGrand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.[121]In the meantime, the studio contributed to Rockstar San Diego'sRed Dead Redemptionin 2010 andTeam Bondi'sL.A. Noirein 2011.[122]ForMax Payne 3in 2012, Rockstar North assisted a number of other Rockstar Games studios collectively credited as "Rockstar Studios".[123]

Immediately following the completion ofGrand Theft Auto IV,Rockstar North began preliminary work onGrand Theft Auto V.[124]Rockstar North's 360 employees formed the core of a worldwide team of 1,000 staff, including several other Rockstar Games studios.[82]The core development took roughly three years, and the game was released in September 2013.[124]The game broke the records for the best-selling and highest-grossing video game within one day and the fastest entertainment property to reach$1 billionin revenue at three days.[125][126]With continuing sales and the success of its online multiplayer counterpart,Grand Theft Auto Online,the game grossed an estimated$6 billionby 2018, making it the most profitable entertainment product of all time.[127]With 200 million copies sold as of March 2024,Grand Theft Auto Vbecame thesecond-best-selling game ever,adding to the 425 million total sales for the series.[128][129]

Continued expansion and departure of Leslie Benzies (2014–present)

edit
From 2004 to 2014, Rockstar North occupied offices at Calton Square, 1 Greenside Row, Edinburgh; at the foot ofCalton Hill.[81][108]

In 2014, Rockstar North took over 75,000 square feet (7,000 m2) of office space in Barclay House on Holyrood Road in Edinburgh. The building had been constructued for the previous tenant, the newspaper groupThe Scotsman,in 1999.[130]In the same year, the studio began receivingtax creditsfrom the newly established Video Games Tax Relief scheme set up by thegovernment of the United Kingdom.According to the investigativethink tankTaxWatch UK, the studio had received£80 millionby 2020, 37% of the scheme's total payout, while having not paid anycorporation taxsince 2009.[131][132]In response, Rockstar Games stated that the tax credits had enabled higher investments into the country, whileThe Association for UK Interactive Entertainmentreported that the scheme had brought about a fourfoldreturn on investmentfor the British economy.[132]

Benzies, until then thestudio head,went on asabbaticalin September 2014. He did not return and was announced as having left Rockstar North in January 2016. Garbut and Rob Nelson, bothart directorsfor the studio, took over his responsibilities.[133]Benzies sued Rockstar Games, Take-Two, Sam Houser, andDan Houseron 12 April 2016, claiming that the companies had withheld$150 millioninroyalty paymentsfollowing his departure.[134][135]In the suit, he claimed that the Houser brothers had persuaded him to take a six-month sabbatical and fired his son and several friends during this absence.[136]As Benzies tried to return after the planned end of his sabbatical in April 2015, his building access had been disabled and theoffice managerordered him off the premises.[134]The lawsuit stated that the three "Rockstar Principals" —himself and the Houser brothers—had established ashell corporationtoevenly share profitsand eventually leave Take-Two. Additionally, Benzies accused Sam Houser of having built a sexually charged culture and ineptly handling thedevelopment ofRed Dead Redemption.[134]

Take-Two quickly filed acounterclaimand described Benzies's claims as "entirely without merit and in many instances downright bizarre".[136][137]The claim asserted that, because Benzies had departed Rockstar North without a good cause, he was not entitled to any additional compensation.[134]TheNew York Supreme Courtpartially dismissed Benzies's lawsuit in April 2018 because the profit-sharing agreement did not guarantee equal pay for the Rockstar Principals, although he remained entitled to some royalties.[138]Take-Two later accused Benzies ofpoachingemployees from Rockstar North for his newer studio, Royal Circus Games, and argued that the company's name and trademark had been deliberately chosen to have consumers confuse the two entities.[139][140]Royal Circus Games was renamedBuild a Rocket Boyin October 2018 and, following a confidentialsettlement,the case was dismissed on 8 February 2019.[140][141]

ForRed Dead Redemption 2,all Rockstar Games studios pooled their resources to act as one team.[142]By the time the game was released in October 2018, Rockstar North had grown to 650 employees.[143]In July 2021, Rockstar North bought Barclay House, where it had become the sole tenant, for£31 millionand the adjacent Holyrood Park House, which it had since occupied parts of, for£18.25 million.[144][145]During 2022, the studio grew to occupy an additional 11,577 square feet (1,075.5 m2) of office space in the latter.[146]

Games developed

edit

As DMA Design

edit
List of games developed by Rockstar North, 1988–2002
Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s) Notes Ref.
1988 Menace Amiga,Atari ST,Commodore 64,MS-DOS Psygnosis [2]
1989 Ballistix Commodore 64, MS-DOS,PC Engine Port development
Blood Money Amiga, Atari ST, MS-DOS, Commodore 64
Shadow of the Beast Commodore 64,PC Engine Port development
1991 Lemmings 3DO,Acorn Archimedes,Amiga,Amiga CD32,Amstrad CPC,Atari Lynx,Atari ST,CD-i,CDTV,Commodore 64,FM Towns,Game Boy,Game Gear,J2ME,Mac OS,Master System,Mega Drive,MS-DOS,Nintendo Entertainment System,PC-98,PC Engine,SAM Coupé,Super Nintendo Entertainment System,X68000,ZX Spectrum
Oh No! More Lemmings Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST, Mac OS, MS-DOS, SAM Coupé
1993 Walker Amiga
Lemmings 2: The Tribes Acorn Archimedes, Amiga, Atari ST, FM Towns, Game Boy, Mega Drive, MS-DOS, Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Hired Guns Amiga, MS-DOS
Holiday Lemmings 1993 Amiga, Mac OS, MS-DOS
1994 All New World of Lemmings Amiga, MS-DOS
Holiday Lemmings 1994 Amiga, MS-DOS
Unirally Super Nintendo Entertainment System Nintendo
1997 Grand Theft Auto MS-DOS,PlayStation,Windows BMG Interactive,ASC Games,Take-Two Interactive
1998 Body Harvest Nintendo 64 Gremlin Interactive,Midway Home Entertainment
Space Station Silicon Valley Nintendo 64, PlayStation Take-Two Interactive
1999 Tanktics Windows Gremlin Interactive,Interplay Entertainment
Wild Metal Country Dreamcast,Windows Gremlin Interactive,Rockstar Games
Grand Theft Auto 2 Dreamcast, PlayStation, Windows Rockstar Games
2001 Grand Theft Auto III Android,Fire OS,iOS,macOS,PlayStation 2,Windows,Xbox

As Rockstar North

edit
List of games developed by Rockstar North, 2002–present
Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s) Notes Ref.
2002 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Android, Fire OS, iOS, macOS, PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox Rockstar Games [94]
2003 Manhunt PlayStation 2, Windows, Xbox [102]
2004 Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas Android, Fire OS, iOS, macOS, PlayStation 2,PlayStation 3,Windows,Windows Phone,Xbox,Xbox 360 [106]
2005 Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories Android, Fire OS, iOS, PlayStation 2,PlayStation Portable Co-developed withRockstar Leeds [114]
2006 Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable [115]
2007 Manhunt 2 PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable,Wii,Windows Supportive development forRockstar London [105]
2008 Grand Theft Auto IV PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 [117]
2009 Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 [121]
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars Android, Fire OS, iOS,Nintendo DS,PlayStation Portable Co-developed with Rockstar Leeds [116]
Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 [121]
2010 Red Dead Redemption Nintendo Switch,PlayStation 3,PlayStation 4,Windows, Xbox 360 Supportive development forRockstar San Diego [122]
2011 L.A. Noire Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360,Xbox One Supportive development forTeam Bondi
2012 Max Payne 3 macOS, PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 Developed as part ofRockstar Studios [123]
2013 Grand Theft Auto V PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4,PlayStation 5,Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One,Xbox Series X/S [124]
2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 PlayStation 4,Stadia,Windows, Xbox One Developed as part of Rockstar Games [142]

Cancelled

edit

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edit
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