- Emergency services responded to an explosion at Rockstar North's Edinburgh office early Monday
- The blast was caused by a heating boiler malfunction damaging the building's structure
- Seven Scottish Fire and Rescue vehicles attended and secured the commercial building
Emergency services were dispatched to the Rockstar North headquarters in Edinburgh early Monday (Jan 19) morning following reports of an explosion. Seven Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) vehicles responded to the scene, with the incident attributed to a heating boiler malfunction, which caused structural damage to the building of the Grand Theft Auto developer.
"We were alerted at 5.02 am on Monday, 19 January to attend an incident on Holyrood Road, Edinburgh," a Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said.
"Operations Control mobilised three fire appliances and specialist resources to the scene, where firefighters worked to secure structural damage at a commercial building."
As the central hub of Rockstar Games, the Edinburgh office has spearheaded the development of every major title in the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption franchises. Reacting to the news of the fire, a section of social media users joked that the game might be delayed again, while others stated that the boiler incident should not affect the game development.
"We're never getting GTA6," said one user, while another added: "Universe giving many signals that this game should not release. Maybe we are better off that way."
A third commented: "Somehow this boiler will have destroyed something which will have been backed up but will be a reason to delay the game for another couple years."
A fourth said: "Everything related to development will be backed up to servers/cloud. Everyone should relax with sensationalist takes."
Also Read | Reserve Hotel Stay On Moon For Rs 9 Crore, Full Trip To Cost Over Rs 90 Crore
GTA 6 Delayed
Last November, Rockstar announced that the release of GTA VI had been delayed again to November 19, 2026, as the studio needed more time to polish the game. The game was originally scheduled to release in the fall of 2025. However, in May 2025, Rockstar Games announced that the game would be delayed, with a planned release for May 2026.
