Emergency services responded to the Rockstar North headquarters in Edinburgh following reports of an explosion during the early morning hours.
Approximately seven Scottish Fire and Rescue Service vehicles arrived at the Grand Theft Auto studio’s office on Holyrood Road in Edinburgh after an alarm was triggered shortly after 5 AM, as reported by The Herald.
While an official cause for the incident has not been confirmed, initial reports indicated an “explosion in a boiler room.”
Fortunately, no injuries were reported, likely due to the early morning timing of the event.
Update: Rockstar North Confirms Studio is ‘Open and Operational’
A spokesperson for Rockstar confirmed that its Edinburgh studio is “open and operational” following the fire brigade’s response.
The spokesperson informed GamesIndustry.biz that a heating boiler at Rockstar North experienced a malfunction early Monday morning.
The statement expressed gratitude to those who showed concern, as well as to the police and fire crews who promptly assessed the situation, confirming that all personnel are safe and the studio continues to operate.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson stated that they were alerted at 5:02 AM on Monday, January 19, to an incident on Holyrood Road, Edinburgh.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s operations Control mobilized three fire appliances and specialist resources to the scene. Firefighters worked to secure structural damage at a commercial building. There were no reported casualties, and crews left the scene at 9:21 AM.
Rockstar North, the primary studio behind the Grand Theft Auto series, is currently developing the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto 6, which has faced several delays. The potential impact of this incident on the game’s development remains unknown.
In recent months, the Edinburgh office has also been the site of controversy following the company’s decision to dismiss over 30 employees, most of whom were based in Edinburgh. This led to multiple protests outside the building.
Former Rockstar staff have conducted protests outside the Edinburgh office recently.
The Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB) claimed that the employees were dismissed by Take-Two because they were involved with an IWGB Game Workers Union channel on Discord, either as members or as part of unionization efforts at Rockstar.
Rockstar refuted these allegations, stating that the staff members were terminated for “discussing highly confidential information, including details about features from upcoming and unannounced titles, in an insecure and public social channel.” This channel reportedly included “employees of competitor game developers, a video games industry journalist, as well as dozens of anonymous, unidentifiable members.”
