Rockstar Dundee

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Rockstar Dundee Limited
FormerlyRuffian Games Limited (2008–2020)
TypeSubsidiary
IndustryVideo games
FoundedApril 2008; 13 years ago (2008-04)
Founders
  • Gary Liddon
  • Billy Thomson
  • Gareth Noyce
Headquarters
Dundee
,
Scotland
Key people
ProductsCrackdown 2 (2010)
Number of employees
~40 (2020)
ParentRockstar Games (2020–present)

Rockstar Dundee Limited (formerly Ruffian Games Limited) is a British video game developer based in Dundee. The company was founded in April 2008 by Gary Liddon, Billy Thomson, and Gareth Noyce. Thomson had been the lead designer for Crackdown and all three had worked at Xen Group, which provided technology for that game. Upon its establishment, Ruffian Games began work on Crackdown 2, which was released in 2010. The game did not sell enough to develop a third Crackdown game and the studio joined several co-development projects, including several Kinect games, to stay afloat. Game of Glens and Hollowpoint were cancelled, while a Streets of Rage remake was unsuccessfully pitched. After working with Rockstar Games since at least October 2019, Ruffian Games was acquired by the publisher's parent company, Take-Two Interactive, in October 2020 and became part of Rockstar Games as Rockstar Dundee.

History[]

Early years and Crackdown 2 (2008–2013)[]

Ruffian Games' logo until October 2020

Gary Liddon, Billy Thomson, and Gareth Noyce founded Rockstar Dundee as Ruffian Games in April 2008.[1] Thomson had led the design for Crackdown at Realtime Worlds and later worked with Liddon and Noyce at Xen Group, which had provided core technology for the game.[2][3][4] The studio name was derived from an event in Thomson's childhood where he was referred to as "a ruffian" by a school classmate's father, who believed that Thomson had a bad influence on his son. Thomson had relayed the story to Liddon, who suggested that they use the name "Ruffian Games" for their venture.[5] Liddon, Thomson, and Noyce assumed the roles of studio head, creative director, and development director, respectively.[2][6] The company moved into Dundee-based offices in October 2008 and its formation was announced in January 2009.[2][3] By this time, the fifteen-person team comprised former developers of Crackdown, Fable II, MotoGP, and the Grand Theft Auto series, among them "five or six" who joined from Realtime Worlds.[2][4][7] In February, the company hired Steve Iannetta and Ed Campbell, designers for Crackdown, as lead designer and senior designer, respectively.[8][9] It recruited fifteen further people in May.[10] The headcount grew to 49 by November 2009, partially helped by closures and layoffs affecting other local studios, such as Midway Studios – Newcastle.[4][11]

With the original formation announcement, Ruffian Games stated that it had entered into a contract with a "major publisher".[2] As Realtime Worlds was occupied with APB: All Points Bulletin and a second Crackdown game had been reported to be in development by a different developer, Ruffian Games was assumed to be the studio responsible for the new entry.[3] Realtime Worlds' studio head, Colin MacDonald, stated that his studio was in talks with the game's intellectual property owner, Microsoft, to develop another Crackdown game. He doubted that the publisher "would harm an otherwise fruitful existing development relationship" by partnering with a different developer also based in Dundee.[2] Ruffian Games was announced as developing Crackdown 2 in June 2009.[12] Learning this, David Jones, the chief executive officer for Realtime Worlds, stated that he was "a bit miffed" at Microsoft for handing Ruffian Games the development of the game, as he considered the studio's proximity to Realtime Worlds a threat.[13] In response, Thomson opined that Ruffian Games was capable of creating a proper sequel to Crackdown because it had hired talent from every department that worked on the original game. Peter Connelly (the game's executive producer) commented that Realtime Worlds was foregone as the game's developer due to its preoccupation with APB.[12]

Crackdown 2's development was quick but difficult: The studio was beset by deadlines it deemed unmanageable and the expectations of fans of the original Crackdown. The production lasted just over one year and was described as "intense, exhausting". The resulting game, released in mid-2010, was met by a mixed reception and did not sell well enough that the studio could immediately start working on a third Crackdown game.[14] To remain in business, Ruffian Games worked with Microsoft on several games for the Kinect peripheral, including Kinect Star Wars and Nike+ Kinect Training.[14] Around 2012, the studio created an experimental multiplayer mode for Crytek's Ryse: Son of Rome, although this work was not released with the final game.[15][16] Of several cancelled projects, Streets of Rage was a pitch to Sega for a remake of the 1991 game of the same name. The prototype was created by a small team within six to eight weeks but the project went unsigned.[14][17] A third Crackdown game remained implausible as of 2013.[18]

Independent and cancelled projects (2013–2019)[]

In February 2013, Ruffian Games announced Tribal Towers.[18] The game was conceptualised as "a quirky, side-on, real-time projectile combat game" but an alpha test phase showed that the game and its controls were too complicated. After temporarily putting the game on hold, the studio reworked it as Game of Glens, a game inspired by competitive Highland games that combined elements of Angry Birds, Minecraft, and World of Goo.[14] When Square Enix launched the pilot phase of its crowdfunding initiative Collective in January 2014, Game of Glens was among the three games seeking funding.[19] User polls conducted for the three projects showed that only 39% of respondents were ready to fund Game of Glens, compared to the 90% for World War Machine and 83% for Moon Hunters. Much of the backlash stemmed from users expecting another Crackdown game from Ruffian Games rather than a casual game.[14] As a result, the development for Game of Glens was halted in April 2014.[20]

Noyce left Ruffian Games in late 2013, moved to Finland with his girlfriend, and became an indie game developer. He had attempted to create a Finnish satellite studio for the company to take advantage of investment opportunities in the country but "it was probably the wrong time to make the move and it didn't quite work out".[21][22] In August 2014, Ruffian Games announced the cooperative action game Hollowpoint with Paradox Interactive as its publisher.[23] Paradox Interactive had penned a deal with Sony that would have made the game on console temporarily exclusive to the PlayStation 4. However, shortly after releasing a second trailer in mid-2015, Ruffian Games and Paradox Interactive ended their partnership due to creative differences. The game's development was put on hold and the publisher intended to re-evaluate the game's creative direction.[24] The studio then worked on Fragmental, a twin-stick shooter with local multiplayer inspired by Hotline Miami that the studio self-published in Steam Early Access in February 2016.[24][25] The studio's RADtv, a virtual reality game involving hotseat multiplayer, was released in August 2019.[26][27]

Acquisition by Rockstar Games (2019–present)[]

Ruffian Games announced in October 2019 that it was working with Rockstar Games on games that were not further specified.[28] In October 2020, Rockstar Games' parent company, Take-Two Interactive, acquired Ruffian Games, which became part of Rockstar Games as Rockstar Dundee.[29][30][31] At the time, the studio had approximately 40 employees.[32]

Games developed[]

Year Title Platform(s) Publisher(s) Ref(s).
2010 Crackdown 2 Xbox 360 Microsoft Studios [14]
2012 Kinect PlayFit [33]
2017 Fragmental Microsoft Windows Ruffian Games [25]
2019 RADtv [26]

Additional work[]

Year Title Lead developer(s) Platform(s) Publisher(s) Notes Ref(s).
2012 Kinect Star Wars Terminal Reality Xbox 360 Microsoft Studios [14]
Nike+ Kinect Training Sumo Digital [14]
2013 Kinect Sesame Street TV (season 2) Soho Productions [33]
2014 Kinect Sports Rivals Rare Xbox One [34]
Halo: The Master Chief Collection 343 Industries Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S Ported Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo 4, and Halo: Reach [28][35][36]
2019 Crackdown 3 Sumo Digital Microsoft Windows, Xbox One Developed the Wrecking Zone multiplayer mode [28]

Unreleased[]

  • Streets of Rage[17]
  • Tribal Towers / Game of Glens[20]
  • Hollowpoint[24]

References[]

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  2. ^ a b c d e f Caoili, Eric (20 January 2009). "Ruffian Formally Announces Launch, Publisher Contract". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 7 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  3. ^ a b c Litel, Alex (19 December 2008). "Report: Scottish Developer Ruffian Formed – Crackdown 2 A Possibility?". Gamasutra. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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  20. ^ a b Yin-Poole, Wesley (7 April 2014). "Ruffian gives Game of Glens a rest". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 15 October 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  21. ^ Robinson, Martin (6 May 2014). "Lumo, a new game from Ruffian's co-founder, is truly enchanting". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 23 November 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  22. ^ "Gareth Noyce on making Lumo: 'Triple-A isn't my calling'". MCV/Develop. 9 May 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  23. ^ Welsh, Oli (12 August 2014). "Ruffian Games returns with co-op action game Hollowpoint". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 24 October 2020. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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  33. ^ a b "Past Titles". Ruffian Games. 2019. Archived from the original on 16 January 2021.
  34. ^ "The sixth annual 30 Under 30". MCV/Develop. 5 December 2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2021. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
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  36. ^ Makuch, Eddie (13 March 2019). "Bringing Halo: MCC To PC Is A "Monumental Undertaking," So Microsoft Is Getting Help". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 21 October 2021.
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