Rockstar Games

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Rockstar NYC
Type Private
Founded 1998, New York City, New York, New York, USA
Headquarters New York City, New York, New York, USA
Key people Sam Houser, Terry Donovan, Dan Houser, Jamie King and Gary Foreman
Industry Game development
Products Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, Lemmings, Body Harvest
Parent Take Two Interactive
Website http://www.rockstargames.com

Rockstar Games, also known as Rockstar NYC, is a development division of video game publisher Take-Two Interactive, based in New York City. The brand is most known for the Grand Theft Auto series. It comprises studios that have been acquired and renamed as well as others that have been created internally. While many of the studios Take-Two Interactive 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.[1]

Contents

[edit] Location

Rockstar Games, located at 622 Broadway in New York City, NY 10012 is part of the Take-Two Interactive offices in New York. It is the head office of Rockstar's worldwide publishing enterprises. It is home to the marketing, public relations and product development departments.[2]

[edit] Rockstar studios

Logo Name Years active
(as Rockstar division)
Notes
Rockstar Japan 2005 - present Japanese localization studio.
Rockstar Leeds 2004 - present Previously known as Mobius Entertainment. Based in Armley, Leeds. They created Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories for the PlayStation Portable.
Rockstar Lincoln 1997 - present Based in Lincoln, England. Quality assurance and localization studio. Previously known as Tarantula Studios.
Rockstar London 2005 - present Formed in November 2005. Took over development of Manhunt 2 after Rockstar Vienna had been closed.
Rockstar New England 2008 - present Previously known as Mad Doc Software. Based in Andover, Massachusetts. Acquired on April 4, 2008.[3]
Rockstar North 1999 - present Based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Previously known as DMA Design (founded 1988). They are famous for the Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt franchises, as well as the original Lemmings games.
Rockstar San Diego 2003 - present Previously known as Angel Studios. Developed Red Dead Revolver, the Smuggler's Run series, the first two Midtown Madness games and the Midnight Club series. They are also responsible for the RAGE game engine.
Rockstar Toronto 1999 - present 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.
Rockstar Vancouver 2002 - present Previously known as Barking Dog Studios. They released the PlayStation 2 title Bully.
Rockstar Vienna 2003 - 2006 Previously known as neo Software; closed on May 11, 2006 [4]. Ported the Max Payne series to consoles. Created most of Manhunt 2 before being closed.

[edit] External developers

[edit] Games

Game Release Format
Grand Theft Auto 2 1997 PlayStation, Microsoft Windows, Game Boy Color 1
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1969 2 1999 PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
Grand Theft Auto: London, 1961 1999 Microsoft Windows
Grand Theft Auto 2 2 1999 PlayStation, Dreamcast, Game Boy Color, Microsoft Windows
Thrasher Presents Skate And Destroy 1999 PlayStation
Austin Powers: Oh Behave 2000 Game Boy Color
Austin Powers: Welcome to my Underground Lair! 2000 Game Boy Color
Wild Metal: Reclaim the Future 2000 Dreamcast 3
Midnight Club: Street Racing 2000 PlayStation 2
Surfing H3O 2000 PlayStation 2
Smuggler's Run 2000 PlayStation 2
Smuggler's Run 2: Hostile Territory 2001 PlayStation 2
Oni 2001 PlayStation 2 4
Max Payne 2001 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows 6
Grand Theft Auto III 2001 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
The Italian Job 2002 PlayStation, Microsoft Windows
State of Emergency 2002 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Smuggler's Run Warzones 2002 Nintendo GameCube
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City 2002 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Midnight Club II 2003 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne 2003 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Manhunt 2003 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Red Dead Revolver 2004 PlayStation 2, Xbox
Grand Theft Auto Advance 2004 Game Boy Advance
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas 2004 PlayStation 2, Xbox, Microsoft Windows
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition 2005 PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable
The Warriors 2005 PlayStation 2, Xbox, PlayStation Portable
Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories 2005 PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2
Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis 2006 Xbox 360, Wii
Bully (Canis Canem Edit) 2006 PlayStation 2
Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition Remix 2006 PlayStation 2, Xbox
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories 2006 PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2
Manhunt 2 2007 PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2, Wii
Bully: Scholarship Edition 2008 Xbox 360, Wii
Grand Theft Auto IV 2008 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows
Midnight Club: Los Angeles7 2008 PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Midnight Club: Los Angeles Remix7 2008 PlayStation Portable
Beaterator 7 2009 PlayStation Portable
L.A. Noire 7 2009 TBA
Red Dead Revolver 2 (working title) 7 TBA PlayStation 3

[edit] Films

Rockstar Games is credited as executive producers of Sunday Driver and The Football Factory.

[edit] Technology

Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) is a gaming engine developed by Rockstar Games to facilitate game development on the Xbox 360, Wii and PlayStation 3 consoles.

Rockstar Social Club is a community website created by Rockstar for their upcoming next-gen games.

[edit] References

  1. ^ David Kushner (2007-03-29). The Road to Ruin: How Grand Theft Auto Hit the Skids. Wired News. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
  2. ^ RockstarWatch (2007-08-11). RockstarWatch: Rockstar Games. RockstarWatch.net. Retrieved on 2007-08-11.
  3. ^ Rockstar Acquires Mad Doc Software at RockstarWatch. URL accessed on April 4, 2008
  4. ^ Jurie Horneman (2006-05-11). Rockstar Vienna closes its doors. Intelligent Artifice. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
  5. ^ Rockstar Games. Image Metrics. Retrieved on 2008-03-12.

[edit] External links

[edit] Studios