Developer whose works included GTA and Red Dead Redemption was 51 years old
Gordon Hall, founder of GTA Chinatown Wars developer Rockstar Leeds, has died.
The news is evident from various figures in the Yorkshire development scene, where he was largely based.
Hall’s gaming career began with the founding of Möbius Entertainment in 1997, which produced a variety of Game Boy and Game Boy Advance titles. After working on the GBA version of Max Payne, Rockstar Games acquired the studio and rebranded it as Rockstar Leeds.
Under Hall, the developer worked with fellow Rockstar teams to create titles such as Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories and GTA: Chinatown Wars. Hall even worked at Rockstar San Diego in 2009, where he contributed to the development of Red Dead Redemption.
Between 2011 and 2013, he took a sabbatical to further explore the strategy for players’ psychology and microtransactions, returning to games as chief creative officer for Activision Blizzard Mobile.
“Gordon was simply brilliant at being together, incredibly motivating and always positive,” said Martyn Brown, business development at Five Aces Publishing and co-founder of Team17.
“His pursuit of excellence was staggering and he formed a great, trusting bond with those who chose to work (hard) with him. As a good friend, he was truly inspiring and socially a truly energetic one-time person. “who could entertain endlessly with the drop of a hat that everyone holds in the palm of his hand. Gordon will be sorely missed.”
Hall is survived by his son James.