Rockstar Games is making some strategic moves as they gear up for the eagerly anticipated GTA 6, including acquiring the Sydney-based developer, Video Games Deluxe. This team is now being rebranded as Rockstar Australia, a developer they’ve previously collaborated with on The GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition.
This acquisition reunites Rockstar with Brendan McNamara, the director of LA Noire. After leaving LA Noire’s original studio, Team Bondi, which is no longer operational, McNamara founded Video Games Deluxe.
Adding Video Games Deluxe to Rockstar’s roster is a strategic alignment considering their history. Jennifer Kolbe, head of publishing at Rockstar Games, shared in a BusinessWire release, “We’re thrilled to have Video Games Deluxe officially become Rockstar Australia. We’ve been working closely with them over the years and this is a natural progression in our collaboration.”
Notably, Video Games Deluxe has been part of projects like the re-release of LA Noire, its VR adaptations, and more recently, they helped improve the GTA Trilogy: Definitive Edition. The original release faced significant backlash regarding its quality, with most criticism aimed at Grove Street Games. This sparked some controversy, as Grove Street Games’ CEO publicly criticized the decision to downplay their involvement, calling it “a dick move.”
Reintroducing Brendan McNamara is a significant highlight of this acquisition. He played a pivotal role in the development of LA Noire under Team Bondi, which faced closure in 2011 amidst allegations of harsh work conditions. At the time, McNamara addressed these issues.
Reflecting on this new chapter, McNamara expressed his enthusiasm, “Working with Rockstar Games has been a tremendous experience for the past decade. We’re excited to now officially join them as Rockstar Australia and continue striving to create outstanding games.”
While it remains to be seen if Rockstar Australia will directly contribute to GTA 6’s development, their integration suggests such an involvement would be logical, especially with the fall release window looming for consoles. However, Rockstar hasn’t confirmed the PC release timeline yet. There were some murmurings from a company exec who hinted at it, but those comments were quickly retracted, leaving the PC gaming community waiting for more concrete details.
