Rocksteady Studios Ltd

Overview

RockSteady Sudios Ltd. is a relatively new studio based in North London that has two games in their portfolio. The first game was Urban Chaos: Riot Response which wasn't very well received by critics. The game was released in May 2006 to average reviews and moderate sales. Their second game, Batman: Arkham Asylum, was released in August 2009 to rave reviews.

Rocksteady was founded in 2004 by industry veterans Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker. In just two short years their debut game, Urban Chaos, was released for the PS2 and original Xbox platforms. Published by Eidos Interactive, this first person shooter was given average ratings because it was said to be repetitive while not breaking any new ground in the genre.

For their next project, Rocksteady chose to tackle a video game version of Batman using the license from the DC comic books. With their publisher Eidos Interactive in financial trouble and the bleak history of Batman video games in the past, this news was met with some skepticism. An article in the magazine Game Informer shortly afterwords got fans and critics excited with this bold, new look for a Batman game. News steadily trickled out of the studio from their website and the gaming press on the game's progress throughout the remainder of 2008 and into 2009.

Early in 2009 it was revealed that cash strapped publisher Eidos was to be acquired by Japanese publisher Square Enix. Rocksteady assured everyone that Batman was on schedule for its targeted release date of June 23, 2009. However, at the E3 event in May, the news that Batman would be delayed until "later this summer" was revealed. Rocksteady kept the buzz alive surrounding Batman with a steady stream of new gameplay videos on its official website along with screenshots and team interviews elsewhere on the web. Batman was finally released on its new scheduled date of August 23, 2009. The game so far has received high marks from all reviewers giving Rocksteady much deserved credit for a great rebirth of the Batman franchise in video games, similar to what Christopher Nolan's films have done for the Batman movies.

On December 12, 2009, at the Spike Video Game Awards, Batman: Arkham City was teased to open the show. The video trailer featured a disheveled Joker receiving a blood transfusion and Harley Quinn along with numerous other henchman trashing what appears to be Gotham City. The trailer can currently be viewed at the game's website; http://arkhamhasmoved.com/us/

During the Spike Video Game Awards, Rocksteady was named Studio of the Year.

Warner Bros. acquired Rocksteady Studios in February 2010.

Rocksteady currently has 90 employees.