Rockstar London establishes new development studio

Rockstar Games, a division of New York based Take-Two Interactive, is set to establish a brand new development studio in the heart of London - forming part of the company's European publishing headquarters.

The Rockstar development family comprises of an established network of studios dotted around the globe; the London office traditionally focusing on publishing, marketing and PR operations for the often controversial but always globally successful franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto.

Rockstar currently has six studios located in San Diego (USA), Vienna (Austria), Leeds (UK), Edinburgh (UK), Toronto (Canada) and Vancouver (Canada). The Edinburgh studio, known as Rockstar North, was the originator of the Grand Theft Auto series that remains a target for anti-games campaigners.

The Scottish team was also responsible for the highly controversial Manhunt, which sparked a media frenzy when it was claimed the game was used as a 'training tool' for a brutal teen murder in the UK - a claim later refuted by the police officers who had investigated the case.

The news of the firm's new London office is hidden in the Rockstar Games website under the 'jobs' section, where it states: "Rockstar London, the European publishing headquarters of Rockstar Games, is setting up a new development studio in the heart of London."

The new studio is seeking artists, animators, programmers and, significantly, senior network programmers, suggesting possible next-generation projects may be planned, which will capitalise on the in-built online gameplay functionality of the new machines.

No further details on the establishment of the studio, or indeed, any potential game projects which may be under development have been released so far. Rockstar Games were unavailable for comment at the time of writing.