Rockstar New England
| A capital "R" in green with a five-pointed, black star with a green outline appended to its lower-right end. They lay on a black square with a green outline and rounded corners. | |
| Formerly | Mad Doc Software, LLC (1999–2008) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Subsidiary |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | 1999 |
| Founder | Ian Lane Davis |
| Headquarters | Andover, Massachusetts , US |
Key people | Ian Lane Davis (studio director), Ken Davis (studio director) |
Number of employees | ≈100 (2007) |
| Parent | Rockstar Games (2008–present) |
Rockstar New England, Inc.—previously known as Mad Doc Software, LLC—is an American game development studio operating as part of Rockstar Games and situated in Andover, Massachusetts. Established in 1999 by Ian Lane Davis following his role as technical director at Activision, the studio initially contributed to Activision’s Star Trek: Armada and subsequently took charge of developing its follow-up, Star Trek: Armada II. Beginning in 2002, Mad Doc became the primary developer for the Empire Earth franchise, delivering two main titles and their expansions. While Empire Earth II secured publishing agreements with both Rockstar Games and Bethesda Softworks, the franchise concluded after Empire Earth III failed to meet critical and commercial expectations. Additionally, Mad Doc created Star Trek: Legacy for Bethesda and Bully: Scholarship Edition for Rockstar Games. Following the release of Bully: Scholarship Edition in 2008, Take-Two Interactive acquired Mad Doc and integrated it into Rockstar Games under the new name Rockstar New England. Under this banner, the studio initially worked on a sequel to Bully before reallocating resources toward projects such as Max Payne 3.
Formation and Empire Earth era (1999–2007)
The origins of Rockstar New England trace back to Mad Doc Software, founded by Andover native Ian Lane Davis in November 1999. Davis brought a robust technical foundation with academic credentials from Dartmouth College and Carnegie Mellon University, focusing on artificial intelligence and robotics. Prior to establishing Mad Doc, he served as technical director at Activision from 1996 until 1999, contributing to titles including Dark Reign, Battlezone, and Civilization: Call to Power.
Initially operated solely by Davis as a contract and consulting firm without external investment, Mad Doc’s early involvement included support work on Activision’s Star Trek: Armada and Call to Power II. The company moved its headquarters to Lawrence, Massachusetts in 2000, expanding office space and growing its team to ten employees within nine months. By 2001, Mad Doc was leading development on Star Trek: Armada II, expanding its staff to around twenty individuals—many of whom were former Looking Glass Studios employees.
Following the closure of Looking Glass Studios, Mad Doc assumed responsibility for completing Jane's Attack Squadron, which was released in 2002. That same year in May, Sierra Entertainment entrusted Mad Doc with developing Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest, marking the beginning of Mad Doc’s central involvement with the Empire Earth series. The company also collaborated with Splash Damage on the single-player portion of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory, although this project was eventually canceled by Activision.
In partnership with Gas Powered Games, Mad Doc developed the expansion pack Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna, which launched in November 2003 along with additional complimentary content released in 2004. By early 2004, Mad Doc employed approximately 48 staff members and reported annual revenues near $3.5 million.
Mad Doc released Empire Earth II in April 2005 followed by its expansion pack The Art of Supremacy in February 2006. This success facilitated publishing agreements with Bethesda Softworks and Rockstar Games. For Bethesda, the studio developed Star Trek: Legacy, which arrived in November 2006. Subsequently, Mad Doc produced Empire Earth III, launched in November 2007 with a production budget estimated at $10 million; however, it was met with poor critical reception and weak sales performance, effectively concluding the series.
Projects and acquisition under Rockstar Games (2007–present)
Mad Doc Software, under its agreement with Rockstar Games, was responsible for creating an upgraded edition of Bully, which was initially developed by Rockstar Vancouver and launched in 2006. This enhanced version, named Bully: Scholarship Edition and announced in July 2007, featured additional missions, characters, and items. It was released for the Wii and Xbox 360 platforms in March 2008. By December 2007, Mad Doc had moved its operations to a new office located in Ballardvale, Andover. Founder Davis opted to maintain the studio’s presence there, citing personal connections and a favorable environment for employees. CFO Shaun McDermott highlighted the location as beneficial for retaining skilled personnel. Around the same period, Davis received the "Entrepreneur of the Year" award from the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, Mad Doc contributed multiplayer maps for Turok, which was released in February 2008.
In March 2008, Take-Two Interactive—the parent company of Rockstar Games—completed the acquisition of Mad Doc for a combination of cash, stock, and development advances. This acquisition was publicly announced in April 2008, with Mad Doc being integrated as Rockstar New England. Davis continued his role as studio director alongside Ken Davis. Initially, employees responded positively to the acquisition due to Rockstar’s strong reputation; however, the studio’s work culture evolved to include more intense crunch periods and expectations for long working hours as a demonstration of dedication. In June 2009, approximately 10% of Rockstar New England’s workforce was laid off, including all quality assurance staff, as QA responsibilities were consolidated at a dedicated facility. While severance packages were generally viewed as reasonable, some former employees noted limited support during their transition.
Following the acquisition, Rockstar New England developed the Windows release of Bully: Scholarship Edition in October 2008 and provided support on titles such as Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned, The Ballad of Gay Tony, and Red Dead Redemption. The studio embarked on developing a sequel to Bully while Rockstar Vancouver concentrated on Max Payne 3. Between 50 and 70 team members were involved in creating the sequel, aiming to deliver a compact open world with extensive interactivity and buildings that could be fully entered, featuring a sophisticated glass shattering system. Although a vertical slice was playable, by 2010 staff were reassigned to other projects. Subsequently, Rockstar New England collaborated with Rockstar Vancouver, London, and Toronto on Max Payne 3, which launched in May 2012 and incorporated the glass fragmentation technology originally intended for Bully 2.
In early 2013, Rockstar New England completed its relocation from Ballardvale to Dundee Park in Andover. The studio contributed alongside other Rockstar teams to the development of Red Dead Redemption 2, released in October 2018. Notably, the NPC interaction consequence system initially created for Bully 2 was integrated into this title.
As Mad Doc Software
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Star Trek: Armada | Windows | Activision | Provided supportive development assistance for Activision |
| Call to Power II | Offered supportive development services for Activision | |||
| 2001 | Star Trek: Armada II | |||
| 2002 | Jane's Attack Squadron | Xicat Interactive | ||
| Empire Earth: The Art of Conquest | Sierra Entertainment | |||
| 2003 | Dungeon Siege: Legends of Aranna | Microsoft Game Studios | Co-developed alongside Gas Powered Games | |
| 2005 | Empire Earth II | Vivendi Universal Games | ||
| 2006 | Empire Earth II: The Art of Supremacy | |||
| Star Trek: Legacy | Windows, Xbox 360 | Bethesda Softworks | ||
| 2007 | Empire Earth III | Windows | Vivendi Games | |
| 2008 | Turok | PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 | Disney Interactive Studios | Provided supportive development for Propaganda Games |
| Bully: Scholarship Edition | Android, iOS, Wii, Windows, Xbox 360 | Rockstar Games |
As Rockstar New England
| Year | Title | Platform(s) | Publisher(s) | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Grand Theft Auto IV: The Lost and Damned | PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 | Rockstar Games | Provided auxiliary development support for Rockstar North |
| Grand Theft Auto: The Ballad of Gay Tony | Assisted in development alongside Rockstar North | |||
| 2010 | Red Dead Redemption | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360 | Contributed support development for Rockstar San Diego | |
| 2011 | L.A. Noire | Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One | Supported development efforts for Team Bondi | |
| 2012 | Max Payne 3 | macOS, PlayStation 3, Windows, Xbox 360 | Created as part of Rockstar Studios | |
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S | Assisted development with Rockstar North | |
| 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | PlayStation 4, Stadia, Windows, Xbox One | Developed within Rockstar Games collective |
Canceled
- Single-player segment of Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory
- Bully 2