Rockstar North facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rockstar Games UK Limited

Headquarters at Barclay House in Edinburgh
Trade name	Rockstar North
Formerly	DMA Design Limited (1987–2002) Rockstar Studios Limited (2002) Rockstar North Limited (2002–2021)
Type	Subsidiary
Industry	Video games
Founded	1987; 38 years ago (1987) in Dundee, Scotland
Founder	David Jones
Headquarters	Edinburgh , Scotland
Key people	Andrew Semple (studio director)
Products	Lemmings series (1991–1994) Grand Theft Auto series (1997–2013)
Number of employees	650 (2018)
Parent	Gremlin Interactive (1997–1999) Infogrames (1999) Take-Two Interactive (1999–2002) Rockstar Games (2002–present)

Rockstar Games UK Limited is a British company that makes video games. It's a part of Rockstar Games and is based in Edinburgh, Scotland. The company started in Dundee in 1987 as DMA Design. It was founded by David Jones, who soon hired his friends Mike Dailly, Russell Kay, and Steve Hammond.

In its early years, DMA Design made games for computers like the Amiga and Commodore 64. They created popular shooting games like Menace and Blood Money. But their biggest success came with Lemmings in 1991. This puzzle game became famous worldwide and led to many sequels.

Later, in 1997, DMA Design released Grand Theft Auto. This game was a huge hit and started a very successful series. The company was bought by Gremlin Interactive, then by Infogrames, and finally by Take-Two Interactive. In 2001, after making Grand Theft Auto III, DMA Design changed its name to Rockstar North.

As Rockstar North, the company continued to make new games, including Manhunt. They also helped with other Rockstar games like Red Dead Redemption and Max Payne 3. Most importantly, they kept developing the Grand Theft Auto series. Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) and Grand Theft Auto V (2013) are considered some of the best video games ever made. Grand Theft Auto V even became the second-best-selling game of all time!

Company History

DMA Design

How it Started (1984–1986)

The original members of the DMA Design team in 2011. From left to right: Russell Kay, Mike Dailly, Steve Hammond, Gary Timmons, David Jones.

DMA Design's original headquarters in Dundee (top)

In 1984, David Jones, Russell Kay, Steve Hammond, and Mike Dailly often met at a computer club in Dundee. They loved making small games together. David Jones and Russell Kay made a game called Moonshadow. Mike Dailly created Freek Out. David Jones and Mike Dailly even worked together on a game with no name!

When David Jones went to college, he started making a game called CopperCon1. He worked with Russell, Steve, and Mike. David wanted a company to publish his game. He signed a deal with a company called Psygnosis. His game was renamed Draconia.

Early Games and Lemmings (1987–1993)

By 1987, David Jones wanted to make his company official. He chose the name "DMA Design". The "DMA" came from computer manuals, but David would tell people it "Doesn't Mean Anything".

The game Draconia was renamed Menace and came out in 1988. It sold well, making enough money for the company to create more games. Next came Blood Money, a side-scrolling shooter released in 1989. The company also helped bring other games to different computers.

In 1989, Mike Dailly became the first official employee of DMA Design. The team kept working on new ideas and games.

Sculpture of lemmings in Seabraes Park, Dundee

DMA Design's biggest success happened in 1991 with Lemmings. This was a unique puzzle game where players had to guide little creatures to safety. Lemmings sold over 15 million copies and was released on many different game systems. Its success allowed DMA Design to grow. They even added their own studio for motion capture (recording human movements for games) and a music division.

The success of Lemmings led to many sequels. These included Oh No! More Lemmings (1991), Lemmings 2: The Tribes (1993), and All New World of Lemmings (1994). There were also special Christmas Lemmings games in 1993 and 1994.

New Partnerships and Acquisitions (1994–2002)

After Sony bought Psygnosis, DMA Design started working with Nintendo. They released Unirally in 1994. Nintendo was so impressed that they wanted DMA Design to make a game for their new console, the Ultra 64 (which became the Nintendo 64).

DMA Design created Body Harvest, an action-adventure game. It was supposed to be one of the first games for the Nintendo 64. However, Nintendo had some concerns about the game's content, and it was delayed many times. It was eventually released in 1998 by other publishers.

Around 1995, DMA Design was also working on a Kirby game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. But this project was canceled because it was taking too long.

In April 1995, DMA Design started working on a new game called Race'n'Chase. This game had a team of mostly new developers. After many challenges, the game was finally released in November 1997 as Grand Theft Auto. It was a huge hit with players and critics, and it started a very popular game series.

After Grand Theft Auto came out, DMA Design was bought by a British company called Gremlin Interactive in 1997. DMA then released Space Station Silicon Valley in 1998, and Tanktics and Wild Metal Country in 1999. Then, Gremlin was bought by a French company called Infogrames.

DMA Design was known for taking risks and trying new things with their games. When they had an idea, they would always ask, "What's different about it?" They wanted to make unique and exciting games, not just copy what was already popular. David Jones, the founder, liked games that were "open-ended," meaning players could explore and try different things. This idea is seen in games like Lemmings and the open world of Grand Theft Auto.

In 1998, the company that published Grand Theft Auto, BMG Interactive, was bought by Take-Two Interactive. Some key people, like Sam and Dan Houser, moved to a new company called Rockstar Games, which was formed in December 1998. During these changes, DMA Design lost some of its original team members.

On September 29, 1999, Take-Two Interactive announced that they had bought DMA Design from Infogrames. Sam Houser, who became a top producer at Rockstar Games, said it was a "perfect match" because DMA Design was making games in a "new and exciting manner."

After being bought, DMA Design continued to work on Grand Theft Auto games. David Jones left the company to start a new one. Leslie Benzies and Andrew Semple took over leading DMA Design. The studio had about 25 employees at this time. Under the new leadership of Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive, DMA Design created Grand Theft Auto III, which was released in October 2001 for PlayStation 2. In March 2002, DMA Design officially became part of Rockstar Games and was renamed Rockstar North in May 2002.

Rockstar North

Grand Theft Auto and Manhunt (2002–2007)

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City was released in October 2002 for PlayStation 2. It was made in just nine months! The game kept the fun gameplay of GTA III but added new features and famous voice actors. In 2003, the company released a computer version of Vice City. They also released a two-game pack of Grand Theft Auto III and Vice City for the Xbox console.

The next game from Rockstar North was Manhunt, released in November 2003 for PlayStation 2.

Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas came out for PlayStation 2 in October 2004. It became the best-selling PlayStation 2 game ever, selling over 17 million copies! After being released on Xbox and PC, it sold a total of 27.5 million copies.

In 2005 and 2006, two new games for the PlayStation Portable were released: Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories. Rockstar North helped supervise these games, which were made by another studio, Rockstar Leeds. These games were later also released for the PlayStation 2.

As the company grew, with over 360 staff members, Rockstar North moved to a new, larger office building.

Grand Theft Auto IV and V (2008–Present)

Until 2014, Rockstar North leased part of this office block on Greenside Row in Edinburgh.

Grand Theft Auto IV was released on April 29, 2008, after about four years of development. It came out for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This game was a huge success, breaking sales records for all kinds of entertainment.

Rockstar North continued to work on GTA IV by releasing two extra story parts that players could download. The first was The Lost and Damned (February 17, 2009), and the second was The Ballad of Gay Tony (October 29, 2009). Later, Rockstar Games released a disc with both of these stories together.

In 2009, a new game called Agent was announced. It was being developed by Rockstar North for PlayStation 3. The game was planned to be set in the late 1970s and would be about spies and secret missions. However, the game was never released, and its website was taken down by 2021.

On September 17, 2013, the studio released Grand Theft Auto V for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. This game became one of the most highly praised games ever. It brought players back to the fictional city of Los Santos, which was last seen in Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. For the first time in the series, Grand Theft Auto V let players switch between three different main characters: Franklin, Michael, and Trevor.

Grand Theft Auto V quickly became the studio's most successful game. It also became one of the highest-earning video games of all time, making more money than Grand Theft Auto IV in its first week alone!

At the end of 2013, Rockstar North decided to move into a much larger building called Barclay House in Edinburgh. They moved into this new office in 2014.

After Grand Theft Auto V was released, the studio president, Leslie Benzies, took a break and then left the company in January 2016. Aaron Garbut and Rob Nelson took over his duties. Rob Nelson later became a co-studio head with Andrew Semple.

Games Developed

As DMA Design

As Rockstar North

Development Support

Unreleased Games

• Agent (announced 2009)

See also

In Spanish: Rockstar North para niños