Triple-volume £300 book offers glimpse into Rockstar Games

[UPDATE: Publisher Steidl has contacted Develop to confirm that the book has an RRP of £310 – but that the release date is not yet confirmed.]

German art books publisher Steidl’s Edition 7L impriint will publish a three-volume hardback pictorial history of Rockstar Games next month – but it won’t come cheap.

A £310 pack, the luxury set includes three books in a slipcase that celebrate the "unprecedented production values, style and depth with a dizzying range of techniques and media" exercised in the making of games like Grand Theft Auto, Manhunt, Bully, Red Dead and many others.

(Note: £310 is the official price, although Amazon has it at a less eye-watering £75.)

Content includes original illustrations, wireframes, production stills, product shots, ads, ‘inspiration’ material and candid images from the company’s games, plus a bundled CD/DVD of extra content.

"The hundreds of colour photographs and never-before published video-scapes all culled from the archives of the creators will acquaint readers with the vast areas within the games that allow unparalleled freedom, and a unique experience every play," says the book publisher’s official blurb.

Rockstar Games was founded in 1998 by the Houser brothers, and the book set is intended to celebrate over a decade of what one of the brothers calls continued ‘experiments in narrative’.

The book is currently down for release in August.

The promotional blurb adds: "Published to coincide with Rockstar’s tenth anniversary, this timecapsule has been created with the company’s designers, and every page reflects their spectacular aesthetic. It is the ultimate Rockstar testament to the company’s history of singular moments reinventing the boundaries of style and mischief in entertainment, and setting a new standard for what is possible in interactive arts."

It has gone straight on Develop’s Christmas list.