Max Payne 3 studio to close

Rockstar Games will be merging its Vancouver studio with its office in Toronto.

The publisher has plans to expand operations by closing down Rockstar Vancouver and moving staff across to Rockstar Toronto.

Part of the deal will see Rockstar Toronto based in a bigger, custom-built studio based in Oakville, Ontario.

All 35 staff members currently employed by Rockstar Vancouver will have the chance to move across to Toronto or take positions at other Rockstar studios.

Rockstar Vancouver is best known for work done on Max Payne 3 and Bully.

Vice president of publishing and operations for Rockstar, Jennifer Kolbe, said: “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.

“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.”