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The ongoing disgruntlement surrounding the fraught relationship between LA Noire developer Team Bondi and publisher Rockstar has taken another turn.
An un-named former Team Bondi staffer has spoken of Rockstar’s "disdain" for the studio and suggested that the relationship that finally dragged LA Noire to market will not be resurrected.
In 2005 the studio announced an exclusivity deal with Sony that would have seen LA Noire become a PS3-only release. However, a year later Rockstar stepped in as publisher. Having initially been scheduled for a 2009 release, LA Noire finally hit retail earlier this year.
"I’ve heard a lot about Rockstar’s disdain for Team Bondi, and it has been made quite clear that they will not publish Team Bondi’s next game," the anon told Games Industry.
"Team Bondi are trying to find another publisher for their next title, but the relationship with Rockstar has been badly damaged – Brendan [McNamara] treats LA Noire like a success due to his vision but I think Rockstar are the ones who saved the project.
"They continued to sink money into LA Noire, and their marketing was fantastic. Without their continued support, Team Bondi would have gone under several years ago."
"Rockstar used to be very keen on making Team Bondi something like ‘Rockstar Sydney’ – the more they worked with Team Bondi management, the more they came to understand that this was a terrible idea."
The site also reveals details of Bondi’s resistance to Rockstar’s interventions, with studio boss Brendan McNamara said top have written: "Every dog has its day and there’s going to be hell to pay for this one. I’ll never forget being treated like an absolute **** by these people."
