Following yesterday’s reports that Rockstar Games’ primary development office for Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar North, had been the location of an explosion, the company has now confirmed that the offices are now “open and operational”. In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, a Rockstar Games spokesperson said the explosion was the result of a malfunctioning heating boiler.
“Early Monday morning, there was a malfunction in one of the heating boilers at Rockstar North,” said the spokesperson. “Many thanks to those that reached out with concern, and also to the police and fire crews who were on scene quickly to assess the situation – please know that everyone is well and our studio remains open and operational.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service had been alerted to the incident at 5:02 AM GMT, resulting in three fire appliances and specialist resources being mobilized. The firefighters then worked to “secure structural damage at a commercial building,” and no casualties were reported.
The studio has been hard at work on Grand Theft Auto 6, which is slated for release on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. The currently-planned release date is only the latest after the project suffered multiple delays, from its original 2025 launch window to March 2026, to now in November.
Former animator for the studio Mike York, however, doesn’t think that we’ll see any more delays befalling Grand Theft Auto 6. In an interview last month, he said that yet another delay would do quite a bit of harm to the marketing hype behind the highly-anticipated game.
“I think the game will be released in November 2026 as it’s a good time for the game to come out for Rockstar for multiple reasons to sell video games. If you want to sell a big amount of video games then that’s the perfect time for GTA 6 to come out with it being a month before Christmas,” said York. “Usually companies only delay these things once or twice when they need to, so I think it will come out around that time.”
Alongside gamers, several game developers have also been eagerly awaiting Rockstar Games’ upcoming release. Among these, according to Famitsu, have been a number of Japanese developers who spoke about the title’s potential to “redefine players’ standards” and how “it’ll be a once-in-a-generation turning point for games”.
Amidst all this, Rockstar Games has also been the subject of criticism thanks to its controversial firing of over 30 employees back in November. While the studio alleged that the employees were partaking in “gross misconduct” by leaking confidential details to outsiders, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has called the company out for union busting.
Earlier this month, the employees, working with the IWGB to pursue legal action against Rockstar Games, were denied a request for interim pay by an employment tribunal with Judge Frances Eccles residing. The judge’s denial of interim pay came on the grounds of the employees being unable to demonstrate a “pretty good chance of success” at its legal pursuits about the studio’s union busting.
