Rocksteady Studios founders Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker have launched a new development studio in London called Hundred Star Games, which is described as a AAA game studio startup that will consist of “just 100 industry veterans and emerging talents.”
Hundred Star Games hasn’t been officially announced yet, but is listed on the company details website Endol, with Hill and Walker listed as directors. And according to the company’s websitewhich appears to have gone live in October, is hiring for open positions.
Hundred Star also has a profile on the Great place to work websiteindicating that it has approximately 25 employees, and describes the studio’s ethos of creating “a small team of just 100 industry veterans and emerging talents, committed to creating groundbreaking gaming experiences that connect players across the world inspire and captivate the world.”
It looks like the founders of Hundred Star Games are bringing some of their colleagues from Rocksteady with them. A handful of lead developers and director-level ex-Rocksteady employees have left the Batman Arkham studio in recent months to join an unannounced studio, according to LinkedIn profiles reviewed by Polygon.
Polygon has reached out to Hundred Star Games for comment on the studio’s creation, but the company has not responded to multiple requests.
Hill and Walker left Rocksteady Studios in 2022, after more than 18 years with the company and in the midst of developing Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. Hill was previously the creative director of Rocksteady, while Walker was the studio director. Their departure from the studio sounded amicable as Rocksteady’s founders announced their plan to “hand over the reins, and for us to embark on a new adventure in gaming together.”
At the time, Warner Bros. suggested Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad says the departure should not worry Rocksteady fans, as Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was ‘almost done’.
“We have the utmost respect and gratitude for Jamie and Sefton and wish them all the best in their new venture, and like many fans, we look forward to seeing what they do next,” Haddad said.
Since Hill and Walker’s departure from Rocksteady, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been seriously delayed. It was originally planned for a 2022 launch, and it will finally be released next month on February 2.
Fan reaction to Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Things have been turbulent since the game’s unveiling at Warner Bros.’ DC Fandome event over three years ago. Many longtime fans of Rocksteady’s single-player Batman games have complained about the always-online, multiplayer, games-as-a-service structure of Kill the Justice Leagueand recent case studies of the Suicide Squad game ranged from mediocre to cautiously optimistic.
How Hundred Star Games will differentiate itself from Rocksteady Studios remains to be seen, but it already seems clear that the new studio is dreaming smaller. Based on the company’s ethos, Hundred Star will theoretically grow to less than half the size of Rocksteady, which has approximately 250 employees. That could signal a return to the single-player narrative games that put Rocksteady on the map.
Thanks for the tip, Megaman.