Rockstar Video games has introduced the acquisition of Video Video games Deluxe, a studio primarily based in Sydney that it has been working with for a while. The private relationships concerned return even additional: Video Video games Deluxe was based by Brendan McNamara, who led Group Bondi within the creation of LA Noire earlier than allegations about poor working situations noticed it and Rockstar half methods.
Group Bondi was liquidated in 2011, with McNamara and plenty of key employees transferring to the Australian manufacturing home Kennedy Miller Mitchell to work on the ill-fated (and cancelled) title Whore of the Orient. Ever the busy bee, McNamara additionally based Video Video games Deluxe in 2013, since when it has completely labored on Rockstar tasks: The studio’s collaborations with Rockstar embrace the 2017 re-release of LA Noire and LA Noire: The VR Case Recordsdata. It additionally did the heavy lifting on Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy–The Definitive Version after it launched in a little bit of a state, and received that title as much as scratch.
The press launch comes with the standard from Rockstar, which is to say probably the most banal quotes conceivable. “After working collectively carefully over a few years, we’re excited to have Video Video games Deluxe be a part of the workforce as Rockstar Australia,” mentioned Rockstar’s Jennifer Kolbe. To not be outdone, right here comes massive dangerous Brendan: “It’s been an honor to work carefully with Rockstar Video games this previous decade. We’re thrilled to be part of Rockstar Video games and to proceed our efforts to make the perfect video games attainable.”
So meet Rockstar Australia! For some motive that title simply makes me consider Nick Cave. It would not seem that Video Video games Deluxe is very massive by way of headcount, and the LinkedIn web page merely says it is “searching for skilled programmers to work on one thing new.” This takes the full variety of Rockstar subsidiary studios to 10, plus Rockstar HQ in New York Metropolis.
There may be one little nugget squirrelled-away within the press launch. Within the boilerplate textual content on the backside about Rockstar itself, it calls Grand Theft Auto “one of the crucial profitable leisure properties of all time with over 440 million models sold-in worldwide.” This determine did seem in a Take Two earnings name final month however, hey, it is information to me: And GTA5 is liable for 210 million of these gross sales.
Grand Theft Auto 6 stays on-track for this yr, although do not be stunned if Rockstar decides to offer itself somewhat further time for the spit and polish, and to make it tremendous deluxe. In any case, per Strauss Zelnick, the objective is easy: “We’re searching for perfection.”
