Studios
The buildings and the companies. DMA Design in Dundee, Rockstar North, Rockstar Games in New York, Rockstar San Diego and Leeds and Lincoln, and Take-Two, which bought DMA Design in 1999 for one pound. Also the working conditions: the crunch dispute is here in full, where neither the accusation nor the correction survives intact.
Part of Grand Theft Auto
77 moments in this segment.
- - Hudson Building & 42 Broadway. Rockstar Games is headquartered in New York, where Sam Houser remains president as of 2026. Hudson Building & 42 Broadway.
- - Lower Manhattan by Brown Bros. circa 1920. Rockstar Games is headquartered in New York, where Sam Houser remains president as of 2026. Lower Manhattan by Brown Bros. circa 1920.
- - DMA Design Christmas Meal 1993. The DMA Design staff at their Christmas meal in 1993, filmed by an employee. It shows who was actually in the building four years before the first game shipped.
- - DMA Design Office Tour. A walk through the actual DMA Design office, filmed by the studio's own programmer. This is primary-source footage of the building where Grand Theft Auto was made.
- - Gremlin Graphics - Studio Tour - 1995. A walk through the Gremlin Interactive building in 1995, the same year the Race'n'Chase design document was written at DMA Design in Dundee.
- - Gremlin Interactive - Behind the Scenes - 1996. Behind the scenes at Gremlin Interactive in 1996, while Grand Theft Auto was still in development at the studio Gremlin would buy the following year.
- - GTA '97 - ASC Games Intro (RARE). The ASC Games publisher ident from the North American release of the first Grand Theft Auto. BMG Interactive published in Europe, ASC in North America.
- - Game-Rave VHS Archive: ASC Games Q4 '97 Games Footage. ASC Games' own 1997 trade reel. The game reached North America on 24 March 1998, months after its European release.
- - Rockstar Studios/Angel Studios (2000). The corporate ident marking Angel Studios becoming Rockstar San Diego in 2000, a year after Take-Two bought DMA Design for one pound.
- - "00 1426 Calton Hill - Edinburgh, Schottland. Edinburgh has been the home of Rockstar North since the Dundee studio closed in March 2000. "00 1426 Calton Hill - Edinburgh, Schottland.
- - Hilton Dundee from Tay Road Bridge at sunset. The Dundee Hilton hotel and riverside from Tay Road Bridge at sunset, January 2007. (Old Olympia Leisure Centre and Discovery Point can be seen in distance). David Jones founded DMA Design in Dundee in 1988, aged 22, drawing his first team from the Kingsway Amateur Computer Club. The biggest entertainment franchise on earth came out of a small industrial city in eastern Scotland.
- - Persevere: Leith History | 2008. A community history of Leith, the Edinburgh district where DMA Design opened a satellite studio after Grand Theft Auto 2 in 1999.
- - Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. Dan Houser left Rockstar on 11 March 2020 and registered Absurd Ventures in February 2021. It is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with a studio in San Rafael, and he is its CEO and creative director. Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California. The 3,000-seat Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, designed in the International Style by Welton Becket & Associates, opened in July 1958.
- - Corner of Leith Street and Calton Road, Edinburgh. Dundee operations closed in March 2000 and staff moved to Calton Square in Edinburgh, where the studio has been based since. Corner of Leith Street and Calton Road, Edinburgh.
- - Edinburgh Architecture , Shrubhill House, Leith Walk. 2 in 1999, the first step in the move from Dundee to Edinburgh.
- - Edinburgh Calton Hill. Edinburgh has been the home of Rockstar North since the Dundee studio closed in March 2000.
- - Edinburgh Interiors , The Tail End, Leith Walk. 2 in 1999, the first step in the move from Dundee to Edinburgh.
- - Stalking Rockstar North - An Edinburgh Trip. Exterior footage of the Rockstar North building in Edinburgh. The company moved to Calton Square in 2000 and took the Rockstar North name in May 2002.
- - Dundee Waterfront beside Tay Road Bridge Oct 2013. Dundee Waterfront Demolition/Redevelopment beside Tay Road Bridge. David Jones founded DMA Design in Dundee in 1988, aged 22, drawing his first team from the Kingsway Amateur Computer Club. The biggest entertainment franchise on earth came out of a small industrial city in eastern Scotland.
- - NORRIES FISH AND CHIP SHOP GEORGE STREET OBAN SCOTLAND SEP 2013. DMA Design opened its first office in August 1989 above a former fish and chip shop in Dundee. NORRIES FISH AND CHIP SHOP GEORGE STREET OBAN SCOTLAND SEP 2013.
- - Fellowship in 2014 - Rockstar Games. BAFTA awards its Fellowship to Rockstar Games as a company in 2014. The institutional recognition came fifteen years after Take-Two bought the studio for a pound.
- - Overgate Centre entrance and City House Dundee March 2015. Overgate Centre and City House, Dundee. David Jones founded DMA Design in Dundee in 1988, aged 22, drawing his first team from the Kingsway Amateur Computer Club. The biggest entertainment franchise on earth came out of a small industrial city in eastern Scotland.
- - Dundee Waterfront Redevelopment Mar 2016 b. David Jones founded DMA Design in Dundee in 1988, aged 22, drawing his first team from the Kingsway Amateur Computer Club. The biggest entertainment franchise on earth came out of a small industrial city in eastern Scotland. Dundee Waterfront Redevelopment seen from Tay Road Bridge in March 2016- primarily construction of new V&A museum.
- - From DMA to GTA: How DMA Design Changed the World | Nostalgia Nerd. Nostalgia Nerd follows DMA Design from Dundee to Rockstar North. Dave Jones sold the financially struggling studio to Gremlin Interactive for GBP 4.2 million in April 1997; in September 1999 Take-Two Interactive acquired it for GBP 1, assuming GBP 12.3 million of debt.
- - The Story and Games of Psygnosis: The UK's Greatest Games Company?. A history of Psygnosis, the Liverpool publisher that carried DMA Design's breakout title. British studios of this period were small, regional and frequently sold on.
- - The Industrial River - The Water of Leith. BBC Scotland on the Water of Leith. DMA Design opened a satellite studio in Leith, Edinburgh after Grand Theft Auto 2 in 1999, and Dundee operations closed in March 2000 with staff moving to Calton Square.
- - Bench mark, 244 Leith Walk, Edinburgh. A satellite studio opened in Leith after GTA 2 in 1999, the first step in the move from Dundee to Edinburgh. Bench mark, 244 Leith Walk, Edinburgh.
- - Santa Monica, California, beach and coastal bluffs. Santa Monica State Beach and coastal sandstone bluffs (cliffs), California. Palisades Park along Ocean Avenue is seen on top of the bluffs. Dan Houser left Rockstar on 11 March 2020 and registered Absurd Ventures in February 2021. It is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with a studio in San Rafael, and he is its CEO and creative director.
- - Santa Monica - Downtown - Beach. Downtown Santa Monica, California, vista from the 15th store of the Huntley Hotel. Dan Houser left Rockstar on 11 March 2020 and registered Absurd Ventures in February 2021. It is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with a studio in San Rafael, and he is its CEO and creative director.
- - Santa Monica – Third Street Promenade (a) 06 Sept 2017. Santa Monica, California: Third Street Promenade towards SE. Promenade is a shopping, dining and entertainment complex in the downtown area of Santa Monica. Dan Houser left Rockstar on 11 March 2020 and registered Absurd Ventures in February 2021. It is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with a studio in San Rafael, and he is its CEO and creative director.
- - Gremlin Graphics founder Ian Stewart - The Retro Hour EP89. Gremlin's founder on building the company that briefly owned DMA Design. The studio changed hands twice in under three years before the first 3D Grand Theft Auto shipped.
- - DMA DESIGN TALK & Q&A [PLAY EXPO BLACKPOOL 2018]. A DMA Design panel and audience session at Play Expo Blackpool. The studio's first office opened in August 1989 above a former fish and chip shop in Dundee, and roughly 23 people worked on Grand Theft Auto III.
- - 44th St 6th Av td 05 - 1133 Avenue of the Americas. 1133 Avenue of the Americas, at the southwest corner of Sixth Avenue and 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan. The Bank of America Tower and the Salesforce Building (3 Bryant Park / 1095 Avenue of the Americas) are south in the background. Take-Two Interactive acquired DMA Design in September 1999 for one pound, assuming 12.3 million pounds of debt. Two years earlier Jones had sold the struggling studio to Gremlin Interactive for 4.2 million pounds.
- - Fish and chip shop, Ballachulish. DMA Design opened its first office in August 1989 above a former fish and chip shop in Dundee. Fish and chip shop, Ballachulish.
- - Studios Rockstar North Édimbourg 3. Studios de Rockstar North, Édimbourg. Rockstar North is the studio that was DMA Design. It moved from Dundee to Edinburgh after GTA 2, and was renamed Rockstar Studios in March 2002 and Rockstar North in May 2002.
- - Triangulation pillar on Calton Hill, Edinburgh. Edinburgh has been the home of Rockstar North since the Dundee studio closed in March 2000. Triangulation pillar on Calton Hill, Edinburgh.
- - How Take-Two Lost The Founder & Still Built A $15B Video Game Giant - a Case Study for Entrepreneurs. Take-Two Interactive's corporate history, including the era before it acquired the Scottish studio. The company assumed GBP 12.3 million of DMA's debt as part of the 1999 purchase.
- - DMA Design Historie – Von der Rettung der Lemminge zum Grand Theft Auto und Crackdown. A corporate history of DMA Design through the Dundee closure in March 2000 and the rename to Rockstar North in May 2002. Staff moved to Calton Square in Edinburgh.
- - Red Dead Redemption 2: Inside Rockstar Games - BBC Click. BBC Click films inside a Rockstar studio, one of very few broadcast pieces shot on the company's premises. Rockstar rarely opens its buildings to cameras.
- - The Story and Games of Gremlin (full) | Kim Justice. Gremlin Interactive bought DMA Design for GBP 4.2 million in April 1997. Gremlin was itself taken over by Infogrames, after which Take-Two acquired DMA for GBP 1 in September 1999.
- - Lemmings plaque, Nethergate, Dundee. DMA Design made Lemmings before it made Grand Theft Auto. Released in February 1991 and published by Psygnosis, it sold 20 million copies across 21 platforms and made Jones a millionaire at 25. That success bought the independence in which GTA was developed. Lemmings plaque, Nethergate, Dundee.
- - ReDrawing Edinburgh: A Brief History of Leith. A library history of Leith. Dundee operations closed in March 2000 and staff moved to Calton Square in Edinburgh, where Rockstar North remains.
- - Calton Road from Regent Bridge, Edinburgh. Dundee operations closed in March 2000 and staff moved to Calton Square in Edinburgh, where the studio has been based since. Calton Road from Regent Bridge, Edinburgh.
- - Fish and chip shop, Aviemore. DMA Design opened its first office in August 1989 above a former fish and chip shop in Dundee. Fish and chip shop, Aviemore.
- - Rockstar Acquires Ruffian Games, Forms Rockstar Dundee!. Rockstar returns to Dundee in 2020 by acquiring a local studio, twenty years after DMA Design's Dundee operations closed in March 2000.
- - ⁴ᴷ⁶⁰ Grove St to Rockstar North, Edinburgh. A walking tour to the Rockstar North offices in Edinburgh. The buildings are photographable where the games are not, which is the whole basis of the studios facet.
- - Edinburgh Calton Hill from Salisbury Crags. Remote view of Calton Hill in Edinburgh, Scotland, from Salisbury Crags in Holyrood Park. Edinburgh has been the home of Rockstar North since the Dundee studio closed in March 2000.
- - Evolution of DMA Design (Rockstar North) Games. DMA Design's full catalogue from 1988 to the Rockstar North rename. The studio was renamed Rockstar Studios in March 2002 and Rockstar North that May.
- - Evolution of Rockstar San Diego 1994-2018. Rockstar San Diego from its origins as Angel Studios. The Rockstar group grew by absorbing existing studios rather than founding new ones.
- - Rockstar Games - The Controversial History. The company examined as a business rather than a creative studio. Take-Two acquired DMA Design for one pound in 1999 and the franchise is now measured in billions.
- - Evolution of Rockstar Lincoln Games 1992-2001. Rockstar Lincoln handles quality assurance and localisation. Its QA operation was described in Kotaku's 2018 investigation as the harshest for crunch, with mandatory overtime from August 2017.
- - Scotland's massive impact on the video game industry that goes unnoticed. On the Scottish games-industry cluster that produced DMA Design. Dundee's Abertay University became a centre for games education in the wake of what the city's studios achieved.
- - NT2673 - Rockstar North. HQ of Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rockstar North is the studio that was DMA Design. It moved from Dundee to Edinburgh after GTA 2, and was renamed Rockstar Studios in March 2002 and Rockstar North in May 2002.
- - Absurd Ventures. Dan Houser's studio announces itself. He registered the company in February 2021, eleven months after leaving Rockstar, and it now builds new intellectual property across games, television, film, podcasts, books and comics.
- - Rockstar North. HQ of Rockstar North in Edinburgh, Scotland. Rockstar North is the studio that was DMA Design. It moved from Dundee to Edinburgh after GTA 2, and was renamed Rockstar Studios in March 2002 and Rockstar North in May 2002.
- - Edinburgh Trams - Top of Leith Walk. A satellite studio opened in Leith after GTA 2 in 1999, the first step in the move from Dundee to Edinburgh. Edinburgh Trams - Top of Leith Walk.
- - What's Rockstar Dundee Up To?. The reconstituted Rockstar Dundee, opened in 2020. The company returned to the city twenty years after DMA Design's operations there closed.
- - Lemmings Bronze Statues in Dundee / DMA Design offices. The Dundee sites as they stand today, including the city's Lemmings memorial. The biggest entertainment franchise on earth began in a small industrial city in eastern Scotland.
- - South Korea to Dundee: Abertay University hosts Cross-Cultural Game Jam. Abertay University in Dundee hosts an international game jam. The Scottish games cluster outlived the studio that started it.
- - Dare Academy 2023. A student games competition run from Dundee. The city that produced Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto now trains developers rather than exporting them.
- - The complete history of Rockstar Games. A feature-length corporate history of Rockstar Games from its BMG Interactive origins. The publisher was founded in New York while the development studio remained in Scotland.
- - L'HISTOIRE D'INFOGRAMES. A history of Infogrames, the French publisher that took over Gremlin Interactive and so briefly owned DMA Design before Take-Two acquired it in September 1999.
- - Abertay University Facilities Tour: Games Technology, Arts and Cybersecurity. A tour of Abertay University's games facilities in Dundee. The city built a games-education sector on the back of what DMA Design achieved there.
- - DMA Design, Creators of Lemmings, GTA & Shadow of the Beast. Q&A Talk at ZZap! Live 2025 Event. A DMA Design reunion panel in 2025. The studio was sold twice: to Gremlin Interactive for GBP 4.2 million in April 1997, then to Take-Two for GBP 1 in September 1999 with GBP 12.3 million of debt assumed.
- - MindsEye - Quality Assurance with Leslie Benzies - Dev Diary. Build A Rocket Boy's own footage of its Edinburgh quality assurance floor. Benzies is president of the studio, whose game MindsEye released 10 June 2025.
- - Macari's fish ^ chips shop, Wemyss Bay. 1989 above a former fish and chip shop in Dundee.
- - Railway bridge over Calton Road, Edinburgh. Dundee operations closed in March 2000 and staff moved to Calton Square in Edinburgh, where the studio has been based since. Railway bridge over Calton Road, Edinburgh.
- - Rockstar North. 2, and was renamed Rockstar Studios in March 2002 and Rockstar North in May 2002. Rockstar North.
- - Transportation Building 225 Broadway. Rockstar Games is headquartered in New York, where Sam Houser remains president as of 2026. Transportation Building 225 Broadway in Lower Manhattan.
- - How an Owl ruled the world : The Story of Psygnosis. Psygnosis published Lemmings in 1991 and was DMA Design's first significant partner. The Dundee studio's independence rested on that relationship years before Rockstar existed.
- - The Story Behind 2025's Biggest Gaming Disaster. An account of MindsEye, released 10 June 2025 by Build A Rocket Boy to broadly negative reviews. Leslie Benzies, formerly Rockstar North president, is the studio's president.
- - What each Rockstar studio REALLY does (and no one tells you). How work is divided across Rockstar's studio network. The company operates studios in Edinburgh, New York, Lincoln, San Diego, Dundee and elsewhere rather than in one building.
- - ABSURD VENTURES : Pourquoi le studio de Dan Houser est très prometteur ?. A profile of Absurd Ventures, headquartered in Santa Monica with a studio in San Rafael. Former Rockstar staff have joined the company since its founding.
- - Rockstar North: From Hobbyists To A Gaming Empire. A history of the studio from the Kingsway Amateur Computer Club to Rockstar North. Dundee operations closed in March 2000 with staff moving to Calton Square in Edinburgh; the company was renamed Rockstar Studios in March 2002 and Rockstar North that May.
- - Every Rockstar Games Studio Explained. A studio-by-studio map of the Rockstar group. The corporate structure grew largely by renaming and absorbing existing studios.
- - Waterloo Place Bridge over Calton Road, Edinburgh. Dundee operations closed in March 2000 and staff moved to Calton Square in Edinburgh, where the studio has been based since. Waterloo Place Bridge over Calton Road, Edinburgh.
- - The $500 Watch Factory Redundancy that Created GTA - Grand Theft Auto Franchise. The industrial Dundee that DMA Design emerged from. The biggest entertainment franchise on earth came out of a small city in eastern Scotland whose earlier economy was jute and manufacturing.