Rocksteady Studios
Rocksteady Studios Limited is a British video game developer based in London, England. Founded on 13 December 2004, the studio is best known for its work in the "" series. The company is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. History. Rocksteady Studios was founded on 13 December 2004, by Jamie Walker and Sefton Hill, formerly employed by the previously closed Argonaut Games as creative director and head of production, respectively. Several other Argonaut employees were also hired. SCi Entertainment (later renamed Eidos) was a founding investor in the studio, holding 25.1% of the company's shares. Rocksteady's  first release was the 2006 first-person shooter "", developed using the Havok engine and published by Eidos Interactive for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. After Eidos obtained the rights to make a Batman game in spring 2007, they approached Rocksteady who presented their take on the "Batman" licence, and by May 2007, they had begun developing the concept of "", with full production beginning in September 2007. The game's commercial and critical success led publisher Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (WBIE) to acquire an undisclosed majority stake in Rocksteady. Eidos retained its 25.1% stake. Rocksteady later became wholly owned by WBIE. In  August 2020, Rocksteady announced their next game titled "", with plans to reveal details at the "DC FanDome" event later that month. A Suicide Squad game had been teased at the end of "" (developed by WB Games Montreal), and in the years since "Batman: Arkham Knight" was released, Rocksteady had been rumoured to be working on a Suicide Squad game. There had also been rumours that Rocksteady had been working on a Superman game, but which they had denied. Allegations of misconduct. "The Guardian" reported in August 2020 that the studio had failed to address issues related to sexual harassment and  inappropriate behaviour that more than half of the female employees had written to the studios executives about in a November 2018 letter. Such actions had included "slurs regarding the transgendered community", "discussing a woman in a derogatory or sexual manner with other colleagues", and sexual harassment "in the form of unwanted advances, leering at parts of a woman’s body, and inappropriate comments in the office". Rocksteady said to "The Guardian", "In 2018 we received a letter from some of our female employees expressing concerns they had at that time, and we immediately took firm measures to address the matters  that were raised. Over the subsequent two years we have carefully listened to and learned from our employees, working to ensure every person on the team feels supported. In 2020 we are more passionate than ever to continue to develop our inclusive culture, and we are determined to stand up for all of our staff." The following day, a letter signed by all current female employees from the company was released to say that they did not agree with the Guardian article and that they hadn't been consulted nor did they agree with the allegations spoken on their behalf