Rockstar London

Rockstar London Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in London. The company was established by Mark Washbrook in November 2005 within the Rockstar Games' European publishing offices on King's Road. The studio's first game became Manhunt 2 after the previous developer, Rockstar Vienna, was shut down in May 2006. It later developed Midnight Club: L.A. Remix, was a PlayStation Portable adaptation of Midnight Club: Los Angeles. Washbrook left the company in January 2011. In 2012, Rockstar London co-led the development of Max Payne 3.

Rockstar London Limited

Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	November 2005
Founder	Mark Washbrook
Headquarters	London , England
Products	Manhunt 2
Parent	Rockstar Games

History

Rockstar Games, an American video game publisher, announced in November 2005 that it would establish a development studio as part of its European publishing office on King's Road.[1][2] The creation was led by Mark Washbrook, who became the studio head.[3] The studio's first game was Manhunt 2, a sequel to the 2003 game Manhunt. Manhunt 2 was originally in development at Rockstar Vienna, a sister studio, until it was shut down in May 2006.[4] Manhunt 2 was announced as Rockstar London's debut title in February 2007 and released that October.[5][6] Its next game was Midnight Club: L.A. Remix, a PlayStation Portable adaptation of Midnight Club: Los Angeles, which was released in October 2008.[7]

In January 2011, Washbrook announced his resignation.[8] His departure coincided with that of Mark Lloyd, the former studio head of Rockstar Lincoln.[3][8] Rockstar Games stated that neither departure would affect the projects in development at the respective studios at the time.[8] Washbrook went on to work for Sony Computer Entertainment Europe and, together with Lloyd, joined Activision's mobile-focused Activision Leeds studio in May 2012.[3] Rockstar London was one of four studios, alongside Rockstar Vancouver, Rockstar Toronto and Rockstar New England, leading the development of Max Payne 3 (2012).[9]

Accolades

Rockstar London was a finalist for the "Best New UK/European Studio" award at the 2008 Develop Industry Excellence Awards but lost to Doublesix.[10][11]

Games developed

Year	Title	Platform(s)	Publisher(s)	Notes
2007	Manhunt 2	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Wii	Rockstar Games	Previously in development at Rockstar Vienna
2008	Midnight Club: L.A. Remix	PlayStation Portable		N/A
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, PlayStation 5, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S		Supportive development for Rockstar North
2018	Red Dead Redemption 2	Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Stadia, Xbox One		Developed as part of Rockstar Studios

References

1. Carless, Simon (21 November 2005). "Rockstar To Open New London Development Studio". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
2. Loughrey, Paul (22 November 2005). "Rockstar London establishes new development studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
3. Martin, Matt (22 May 2012). "Ex-Rockstar bosses working with Activision Leeds studio". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
4. Carless, Simon (1 November 2007). "Manhunt 2 Gets Rockstar Vienna Crediting Controversy". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
5. Kuchera, Ben (8 February 2007). "Manhunt 2 coming to the PS2, PSP, and... Wii?". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
6. Bangeman, Eric (24 August 2007). "Manhunt 2 will see Halloween release date after getting M rating". Ars Technica. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
7. Brice, Kath (4 July 2008). "Rockstar working on Midnight Club: LA Remix for PSP". Pocket Gamer. Archived from the original on 14 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
8. Alexander, Leigh (27 January 2011). "Rockstar London Studio Head Resigns". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
9. Totilo, Stephen (6 October 2011). "We Watched them Play Max Payne 3 , and We Were Very Impressed". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
10. GamesIndustry International (5 June 2008). "Develop Industry Excellence Awards 2008". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.
11. GamesIndustry International (31 July 2008). "Develop Awards 2008". GamesIndustry.biz. Archived from the original on 10 December 2017. Retrieved 9 December 2017.