Rocksteady co-founders to leave studio after 18 years, ahead of Suicide Squad release

Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker, co-founders of Rocksteady Studios, have decided to leave the company. They will step down from their roles at the end of 2022, just before of the Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League launch.

• WB Interactive Entertainment president David Haddad shared the news on the Rocksteady official website. No specific reasons were given for Hill and Walker’s exit.
• “They have committed to the highest quality and excellence across all facets of game development while ensuring an outstanding culture of caring for their employees,” Haddad said.
• Jamie Walker and Sefton Hill were studio heads at Rocksteady, with Hill also serving as the game director of the whole Batman: Arkham series.
• Rocksteady director of production Nathan Burlow will take on the role of studio director. He was one of the founding members of the company, who has worked there ever since its inception in 2004.
• Another Rocksteady veteran, Darius Sadeghian, will become the product director. He worked at the studio for almost eight years, going from design producer to production director.
• Hill and Walker thanked not only their colleagues, but Rocksteady fans as well, saying that their support was the fuel that motivated them along the way.
• “Nathan and Darius have proved their passion and skill at Rocksteady over many years,” the studio’s co-founders said. “They are veterans of our industry and we know their commitment to Rocksteady and their talent and energy will take the team to even greater heights.”
• It is unclear what Hill and Walker will do next, but they definitely are not leaving the games industry.

Brief history of Rocksteady Studios

• Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker started their gamedev careers at British developer Argonaut Games, where they worked as creative director and head of production, respectively.
• They contributed to titles like Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Red Dog: Superior Firepower, SWAT: Global Strike Team, and I-Ninja.
• In 2004, Argonaut Games laid off 100 employees and eventually closed. Hill and Walker co-founded Rocksteady Studios right after, with many former colleagues joining them on the new journey.
• The studio received its first investment from SCi Entertainment, a UK publisher currently known as Eidos.
• In 2006, Rocksteady released its debut game, first-person shooter Urban Chaos: Riot Response, which received average to positive reviews from critics.
• The studio gained recognition for the Batman: Arkham series, which has sold over 30 million units globally since the release of Arkham Asylum in 2009.
• In 2010, Warner Bros. acquired a majority stake in Rocksteady for an undisclosed sum, with Eidos retaining its 25.1% stake in the studio.
• Right now, Rocksteady is working on Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, its first major title in seven years. The third-person action game is expected to come out in 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.