History of Rockstar Games in Timeline

Rockstar Games, founded in December 1998 and based in New York City, is a video game publisher and a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive. Its origins stem from assets acquired from BMG Interactive. Key founding members include Terry Donovan, Gary Foreman, Dan and Sam Houser, and Jamie King, all previously affiliated with Take-Two and BMG Interactive. Sam Houser currently serves as the president of the company.

1997: Grand Theft Auto Original Entry

In 1997, BMG Interactive published the original entry in the Grand Theft Auto series, which Rockstar Games later took over.

March 12, 1998: Take-Two Acquires BMG Interactive Assets

On March 12, 1998, Take-Two Interactive announced its acquisition of the assets of BMG Interactive from BMG Entertainment in exchange for 1.85 million shares of its common stock. This acquisition included intellectual properties like DMA Design's Grand Theft Auto and Space Station Silicon Valley.

December 1998: Rockstar Games Established

In December 1998, Dan Houser, Sam Houser, Terry Donovan, and Jamie King established Rockstar Games as the "high-end" publishing label of Take-Two.

January 22, 1999: Rockstar Games Formation Announcement

On January 22, 1999, the formation of Rockstar Games as a publishing label of Take-Two was formally announced.

October 30, 1999: First Rockstar Loft Event

On October 30, 1999, the first Rockstar Loft event was held in western Chelsea, Manhattan, featuring Andi Hanley, Bob Sinclar, and Dimitri from Paris as headlining DJs.

1999: Rockstar Canada Acquisition

In 1999, Take-Two acquired Rockstar Canada (later renamed Rockstar Toronto), marking the first company to become part of Rockstar Games.

1999: Establishment of Rockstar Loft Club Night

In 1999, Terry Donovan and Sam Houser cooperated with John Davis to establish the Rockstar Loft club night in New York City, aiming to provide an alternative to overly expensive or exclusive venues.

February 19, 2000: Rockstar Loft event

On February 19, 2000, one of the Rockstar Loft events was held.

2001: Film offer for Grand Theft Auto

In 2001, Rockstar Games was offered $5 million for a film based on the Grand Theft Auto franchise, to be directed by Tony Scott and starring Eminem, but Sam Houser declined the offer.

2003: Gary Dale Joins Capcom

In 2003, Gary Dale, who previously worked with the Houser brothers and Jamie King at BMG Interactive, joined Capcom's European operations as managing director after BMG was acquired by Take-Two Interactive.

2004: Production of The Football Factory

In 2004, Rockstar Games produced the sports drama film The Football Factory, based on the book of the same name by John King, which revolves around football hooliganism in the UK.

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2005: Release of Sunday Driver and The Introduction with Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas special edition

In 2005, Rockstar Games released Sunday Driver, a documentary about the Majestics Lowrider Club, and The Introduction, an animated film detailing events leading up to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, bundled with the game's special edition.

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2006: Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) Creation

Since 2006, the Rockstar Advanced Game Engine (RAGE) has been used for game development on all platforms and is featured in most of Rockstar Games' titles.

January 2007: Terry Donovan Leaves Rockstar Games

In January 2007, Terry Donovan, managing director for Rockstar Games, left the company following a four-month leave of absence. He was succeeded by Gary Dale as chief operating officer.

October 2011: Dan Houser Discusses Game Development Philosophy

In October 2011, Dan Houser told Famitsu that Rockstar Games intentionally avoids developing games in the first-person shooter genre, emphasizing their focus on creating unique experiences and new genres with games like the GTA series.

September 2013: Grand Theft Auto V Release

In September 2013, Rockstar Games released Grand Theft Auto V, which has sold over 220 million copies, becoming the second-best-selling video game of all time.

February 2014: Rockstar Games Sales Milestone

As of February 2014, Rockstar Games titles have shipped more than 250 million copies.

March 2014: BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award

In March 2014, at the 10th British Academy Games Awards, Rockstar Games was honored with the BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award for its contributions to the gaming industry.

November 2016: Grand Theft Auto Series Sales Milestone

As of November 2016, the Grand Theft Auto series alone had shipments of at least 250 million copies.

October 2018: Report on Crunch Culture at Rockstar Games

In October 2018, Jason Schreier published an account detailing crunch culture at Rockstar Games, reporting long working hours. Rockstar acknowledged some employees worked evenings and weekends but disputed the average working hours reported.

2018: Rockstar Games Employee Count

As of 2018, Rockstar Games employs more than 2,000 people across all of its studios worldwide.

May 2019: Acquisition of Dhruva Interactive

In May 2019, Rockstar Games announced its acquisition of Dhruva Interactive from Starbreeze Studios for $7.9 million, which was later finalized and merged into Rockstar India.

September 2019: Rockstar Games Launcher Release

In September 2019, Rockstar Games announced the release of its own game launcher, providing digital distribution, digital rights management, multiplayer, and communications services.

September 17, 2019: Release of Rockstar Games Launcher for Windows

On September 17, 2019, Rockstar Games released its own game launcher for Windows. The launcher integrates with the user's Social Club account and allows users to download and buy games previously purchased through Rockstar's store.

March 11, 2020: Dan Houser Leaves Rockstar Games

On March 11, 2020, Dan Houser left Rockstar Games after an extended break following the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 in early 2019.

October 2020: Acquisition of Ruffian Games

In October 2020, Rockstar Games acquired the Scottish studio Ruffian Games and rebranded it as Rockstar Dundee.

May 2021: Launch of CircoLoco Records

In May 2021, Rockstar Games launched the record label CircoLoco Records in collaboration with Circoloco, aiming to contribute to the dance music scene impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

June 2021: Release of Monday Dreamin'

In June 2021, CircoLoco Records' first release, Monday Dreamin', was launched as a series of extended plays.

September 2022: Data Breach Leaks Grand Theft Auto VI Footage

In September 2022, Rockstar Games experienced a data breach where 90 videos from the development of Grand Theft Auto VI were leaked. Rockstar Games acknowledged the breach as a "network intrusion" and expressed disappointment, but did not anticipate long-term effects on development.

August 2023: Acquisition of Cfx.re

In August 2023, Rockstar Games acquired Cfx.re (CitizenFX), the team behind the modding platforms FiveM and RedM for Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, respectively.

November 2023: Rockstar Games Social Club Branding Removal

By November 2023, most branding related to Rockstar Games Social Club was removed from Rockstar's website.

March 2025: Acquisition of Video Games Deluxe

In March 2025, Rockstar Games announced it would acquire Sydney-based studio Video Games Deluxe, consisting of former L.A. Noire developers, and rename it Rockstar Australia.

October 2025: Employee Firings and Union Busting Accusations

In October 2025, Rockstar Games fired 30 to 40 employees in Canada and the United Kingdom, citing public discussion and distribution of confidential information. The IWGB accused the company of union busting, organizing protests in Edinburgh and London.

December 2025: Government Investigation into Employee Firings

In December 2025, Labour MP Chris Murray raised concerns about the employee firings at Rockstar Games at Prime Minister's Questions. Prime Minister Keir Starmer responded that the Government would investigate the matter.

2025: Rockstar Australia Acquisition

In 2025, Rockstar Australia became the most recent company to join Rockstar Games under Take-Two.

January 2026: Preliminary Hearing on Employee Dismissals

In January 2026, a preliminary hearing by the Glasgow Employment Tribunal rejected providing interim relief to fired Rockstar Games employees, stating it was unlikely a full hearing would find trade union membership as the primary reason for dismissal.

April 2026: Hacking Threat by ShinyHunters

In April 2026, Rockstar Games was targeted by the ShinyHunters hacking group, who threatened to leak information. Rockstar confirmed the breach and stated the incident has "no impact on our organization or our players".