Rockstar London Limited is a British video game developer and a studio of Rockstar Games based in London. The company was established through Mark Washbrook in November 2005 within the Rockstar Games' 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, ', was an adaptation of Rockstar San Diego's ' 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
In November 2005, American video game company Rockstar Games announced that it was establishing a development studio as part of their European publishing headquarters in London. The studio was to be co-located with these publishing offices on King's Road in London's Chelsea area. The studio's foundation was led by Mark Washbrook, who also became the new company's studio head. In May 2006, Rockstar Vienna, one of Rockstar London's sister studios, was shut down by Take-Two Interactive. 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. Manhunt 2 was officially announced as Rockstar London's debut title in February 2007, and released in October 2007. Their next title became ', a PlayStation Portable adaptation of Rockstar San Diego's ', which was in development at the same time. 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. 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. After the game was released, GamesRadar+ editor Andy Hartup described it as "the best racer to go portable in 2008". 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, though lost to Doublesix. In January 2011, founder and long-time studio head of Rockstar London, Mark Washbrook, announced that he had resigned from the company. His leaving coincided with that of Mark Lloyd, former studio head of Rockstar Lincoln. Rockstar Games reassured that neither departure would affect projects in development at their studios at the time. 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. In May 2012, both Washbrook and Lloyd signed with Activision to work for their mobile-focused Activision Leeds studio. Later renamed The Blast Furnace, the studio also hired Gordon Hall, co-founder and former president of Rockstar Leeds, in August 2012. 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. Rockstar London has most recently contributed to Rockstar North's Red Dead Redemption 2, which was released in 2018.
