Inevitably, this double departure goes all the less unnoticed as it comes at a time when the studio founded in 2004 is going through an interminable crossing of the desert, its latest titles, Batman Arkham Knight and Batman Arkham VR, having been released respectively in June 2015 and in October 2016. In this context and while Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League has been postponed to spring 2023, the announcement of this departure is carefully framed by a letter from David Haddad, boss of Warner Bros. Games, which pays a strong tribute to the two interested parties and takes the opportunity to announce two promotions. Nathan Burlow, long time production director and founding member of the studio, thus becomes director of Rocksteady Studios while Darius Sadeghian takes the title of Studio Product Director. “Nathan and Darius are extremely talented executives and they are passionate about Rocksteady’s continued high quality game development for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League and all future games.“, can we read.
Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker then signed a joint departure message in which they congratulated themselves on having been able to work with a talented team, from the studio’s humble beginnings on Urban Chaos to the future Suicide Squad, obviously passing through the saga Batman Arkham which propelled the London studio to international prominence and made Batman the greatest superhero in the video game industry for years, before Sony and Insomniac took Spider-Man even higher . Note that Sefton Hill was the creative director of the games Batman Arkham and Suicide Squad while Jamie Walker held the position of studio director.
“The most special ingredient in all of this is the Rocksteady fans. Their enthusiasm and support for what we do is the fuel that motivates us to perform at our best. They make up the wider Rocksteady team and we wish them a big thank you for energizing us over the past 18 years! Now that Suicide Squad is in good hands and the team is stronger than ever, it’s time to hand over the reins and start a new adventure together in games. Nathan and Darius have proven their passion and skills at Rocksteady for many years. They are veterans of our industry and we know that their commitment to Rocksteady, their talent and their energy will take the team to even greater heights. We couldn’t be happier to see them taking charge and we wish them the best.“, sign Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker.
- Also Read | Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will wait until Spring 2023