Police Cordon Off GTA 6 Development Studio After Explosion Reported

An explosion has been reported in the Holyrood area of Edinburgh, UK, with GTA VI studio Rockstar North taped off by police.

As reported by Edinburgh Live, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) have responded to an incident as part of a major emergency services response.

The incident is believed to have occured around 5:02am this morning, Monday 19 January, where emergency services responded to the scene shortly after the call came in.

Local reports have suggested that "an explosion in a boiler room" is the cause of the incident, but the SFRS has not stated what the exact cause is. No casualties or injuries related to the incident have been reported.

It's understood that the Rockstar North office has been taped off by police, with emergency services still in attendance over two hours after the call was made. Once the area was safe, the crews left the scene at 9:21am, around three hours after responding to the incident.

A spokesperson for the SFRS spoke gave the following comment to Edinburgh Live: "I can confirm that we got a call at 5.02am this morning. We mobilised three pumps and four of our specialist appliances. It's an ongoing incident and we're still in attendance at the moment with other agencies."

Rockstar North Has Been The Site Of The GTA Series Since 1998

The Rockstar North office is located in Barclay House on Holyrood Road in Edinburgh, where the company has been based since 2014. The building was constructed in 1999 for its previous tenant, The Scotsman newspaper.

Since then, the developer has produced the video game Red Dead Redemption 2, and is currently in the final year of development of Grand Theft Auto VI, the first new game in the series since 2013.

GTA VI is due to be released on 19 November, 2026 for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

The game was originally set for release in 2025, but this was delayed last May to May 2026. It was delayed again in November, with a new release date of 19 November, 2026.

Rockstar North was founded in 1988 under the name DMA Design. Originally located in Dundee, Scotland, the developer became known for creating the Lemmings and Grand Theft Auto series, rebranding as Rockstar North in 1998 following the release of the first GTA game and the formation of Rockstar Games.

More to come as this story develops.