Rockstar Games, the world-renowned publishing division of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc., today announced the formation of Rockstar Leeds through the acquisition of Mobius Entertainment Ltd., a Leeds, England based developer of handheld video games.

"We were very impressed with the Mobius development team from the time they began work on the Game Boy Advance version of Max Payne," commented Sam Houser, President of Rockstar Games. "They bring a uniquely progressive vision to the titles they develop and we believe this studio is ahead of the industry on next generation handheld development. We are proud to have them join the Rockstar family."

Mobius Entertainment, now Rockstar Leeds, was founded by industry veterans Gordon Hall, Jason McGann, Dave Box and Ian Bowden in December 1997. They have focused their development efforts primarily on titles for the Game Boy Advance as well as Sony's forthcoming PSP handheld game platform. The studio has approximately 30 developers who have created some of the industry's most highly regarded handheld games, including the award winning Game Boy Advance version of Max Payne for Rockstar Games and Remedy; Drome Racers for Lego and THQ; and Pop Idol for Codemasters.

"From inception, we have grown in size, confidence and enthusiasm, and have remained committed to producing the highest quality games for an ever-changing market," stated Gordon Hall, Managing Director at Mobius. "With our new identity as Rockstar Leeds, we will further leverage our creative and dynamic development team by delivering products that exceed industry expectations for quality, technical achievement and critical acclaim."

News source: http://www.xboxcentral.net/news/926.html#926"