Rockstar acquires LA Noire director Brendan McNamara's Video Games Deluxe, now known as Rockstar Australia

by Danny Craig  · 
Rockstar acquires LA Noire director Brendan McNamara's Video Games Deluxe, now known as Rockstar Australia
Rockstar Games

Rockstar has officially acquired Sydney-based developer Video Games Deluxe, founded by LA Noire director and former Team Bondi boss Brendan McNamara.

The details:

  • Rockstar announced the acquisition of Video Games Deluxe on Monday, following years of collaboration on projects such as a re-release of LA Noire and an improved version of the GTA Trilogy. “It’s been an honor to work closely with Rockstar Games this past decade,” said McNamara in a new press release. “We are thrilled to be a part of Rockstar Games and to continue our efforts to make the best games possible.”

  • McNamara will continue to lead the studio, which has been renamed Rockstar Australia, but it is unclear what projects it will be working on. Given that Take-Two still plans to release Grand Theft Auto VI later this year, it's likely that the new Australian team has been brought on board to help the title cross the finish line.

  • The acquisition marks McNamara's return to Rockstar after his previous studio, Team Bondi, was closed in 2011, just months after LA Noire was released. Despite the game's commercial and critical success, the studio was accused of poor working conditions, including excessive crunching, allegations of toxicity, and failure to credit developers, prompting Rockstar to terminate its partnership. The situation resulted in Bondi being unable to find a publisher for its next project, with McNamara's next title, Whore of the Orient, being cancelled after Warner Bros. pulled its publishing deal.

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