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GTA VI launches on

Official GTA The Trilogy artwork showing three female characters from GTA III, Vice City and San Andreas in colorful panels.

Rockstar buys Video Games Deluxe, the studio behind the mobile Trilogy

Rockstar is acquiring Video Games Deluxe, the Sydney studio behind L.A. Noire VR and the Trilogy upgrades, and renaming it Rockstar Australia. What it brings.

This article is from March 3, 2025. Some details may have changed since then.

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Rockstar Games has a new studio. On March 3, 2025, Rockstar announced the acquisition of Video Games Deluxe, a Sydney-based development studio that will be renamed Rockstar Australia. This isn't just any team: it has spent a decade working with Rockstar and is behind several of its re-releases, which raises a question that's been hanging around for a while: is Rockstar planning more versions of its classics?

Who Video Games Deluxe are

The relationship goes back a long way. Founder Brendan McNamara previously ran Team Bondi, the studio Rockstar worked with to create the original L.A. Noire in 2011. As Video Games Deluxe, the team has worked on these projects, according to the announcement:

  • 2017: the L.A. Noire re-release.
  • 2017: L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files.
  • 2023: upgrades to GTA The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition for iOS, Android, Netflix and modern consoles.

That last one is the most relevant: Video Games Deluxe handled the Trilogy upgrades that arrived with its Netflix and mobile launch, two years after the rocky 2021 release.

What Rockstar and the studio said

"After working together closely over many years, we are excited to have Video Games Deluxe join the team as Rockstar Australia," said Jennifer Kolbe, Rockstar Games' Head of Publishing.

McNamara, for his part, said: "It's been an honor to work closely with Rockstar Games this past decade. We are thrilled to be a part of Rockstar Games and to continue our efforts to make the best games possible."

What role it could play

The deal landed in the home stretch for GTA 6, but Rockstar hasn't said what the studio will work on. Its experience lies in re-releases and conversions of existing games, and that's where it fits most naturally: new versions of classics, ports to other platforms or technical support for other Rockstar projects.

The names fans mention most are GTA IV, which has never officially come to PS5 or Xbox Series, and Bully. None of that is confirmed, though: for now, all we know is that Rockstar Australia is hiring programmers in Sydney.

Our take

Buying the studio that has treated its classics best in recent years is, at the very least, a statement of intent. After The Definitive Edition's rough reception in 2021, it makes sense for Rockstar to want this kind of project in-house. If a current-gen GTA IV ever arrives, Rockstar Australia is the obvious candidate to be behind it.