Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker, co-founders of Rocksteady Studios, announced their intention to leave the studio at the end of 2022. They will begin “a new adventure in gaming” away from the studio behind the Batman Arkham series and the upcoming Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League.
Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker created Rocksteady Studios in 2004 after the shutdown of Argonaut Games, the studio which developed Star Fox on the Super NES. Rocksteady Studios released its first game in 2006, an FPS called Urban Chaos: Riot Response published for the PlayStation 2 and original Xbox. The game that made Rocksteady Studios famous is Batman: Arkham Asylum, an action-adventure game published in 2009 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. This game received several awards, which led to the development of several sequels and spin-offs in Batman’s Arkhamverse. The latest title from Rocksteady Studios and the fifth installment in the Arkham series is Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, set to release in early 2023 for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
18 years after creating Rocksteady Studios, Sefton Hill and Jamie Walker announced they will leave the company at the end of 2022. In a letter published on Rocksteady’s official website, the co-founders thanked their fans and Rocksteady’s team, stating that “it's time to hand over the reins” to “start a new adventure together in games.”
To replace Hill and Walker at the reins of Rocksteady Studios, Nathan Burlow will become the new Studio Director and Darius Sadeghian will step up into the role of Studio Product Director. Burlow was a founding member of the studio and Director of Production on all the Batman Arkham games. Sadeghian joined Rocksteady Studios almost eight years ago, acting as Production Director since 2020.
This change in management comes ahead of the launch of the fifth installment in the Arkham series, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. This upcoming action-adventure game will take place months after the events of Batman: Arkham Knight. Amanda Waller creates a task force comprised of supervillains to protect Earth against Brainiac, who has invaded Earth and brainwashed its inhabitants including superheroes such as Superman, The Flash, and Green Lantern. The four members of the Suicide Squad, Captain Boomerang, Deadshot, Harley Quinn, and King Shark, have to save the world by defeating Brainiac’s minions across an open-world version of Metropolis.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will release in early 2023 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X.