Article: Rockstar Vancouver Shuts Down but Employees Move to Toronto Studio

[Shawn Zipay]

The studio that brought the world Max Payne 3, Rockstar Vancouver, has officially shut down operations. Worry not, however, as the company is giving all of the 35-employee team the opportunity to work in Rockstar Toronto in an all-new studio!

"Expanding Rockstar Toronto and bringing our Canadian development talent together under one roof underscores our commitment to building world-class teams that can make the kind of groundbreaking entertainment experiences Rockstar Games is known for," said Jennifer Kolbe, Vice President of Publishing and Operations for Rockstar Games.

"We believe a single Canadian team will make for a powerful creative force on future projects. We plan to add more than 50 new positions to our combined Canadian team, and are pleased to be entering into this strategic partnership with the Ontario government."

"Rockstar Games' decision to expand its Toronto studio demonstrates the confidence in Ontario's leading-edge digital gaming industry. By providing financial support and tax incentives to help companies grow, we maximize Ontario's competitiveness in the global economy and support job creation," said Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development and Innovation.

While the critics (2) loved Max Payne 3, it was largely regarded as an under-performer. The low sales and assistance by the Toronto government certainly had a hand in this decision to bring the two studios under one roof.

(via)

[Linux]

Sucks to see the studio shutdown but it is nice to see at least the company is moving the employee's to a new team and not just kicking them to the curb like many other studios have done in the past when things get bad and ruff. Max Payne 3 was such a great game also, again I am a huge fan and will always be.