Rockstar mulling LA Noire 2 development

By Tom Phillips Published 13 February, 2012

"Considering what the future may hold" for series.

Rockstar is currently mulling the future of last year's crime thriller L.A. Noire.

Will there be an L.A. Noire 2? Rockstar has said it will not "count out the possibility", despite controversial developer Team Bondi now no more.

"Don't count out the possibility of a new game in the L.A. Noire franchise in the future. We simply have not decided anything," a Rockstar spokesperson wrote, answering a reader Q&A on the company's official site.

"We're all very pleased with how that game turned out and are considering what the future may hold for L.A. Noire as a series."

Rockstar said it was in no hurry to create a follow-up however.

"We don't always rush to make sequels, but that does not mean we won't get to them eventually - see Max and Red Dead for evidence of that - we have so many games we want to make and the issue is always one of bandwidth and timing."

Brendan McNamara-headed Team Bondi was shut down by administrators last year after swirling accusations of employee mismanagement during a brutal "crunch" period on L.A. Noire.

In the near future, Rockstar already has its plate full launching upcoming shooter Max Payne 3. Then presumably next on the cards is the already-announced Grand Theft Auto 5, more details of which Rockstar plans to share soon.

"We know that there are a ton of questions you all have about the game, including release date and lots else," Rockstar said of GTA5.

"Right now, we are very hard at work on the game and are excited as well to show and tell you more as development progresses - expect that we'll be talking much more about GTAV starting at some point in a few months' time." E3 then.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (51) Latest comment 3 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • reeferchief #1 3 months ago

    I enjoyed Noire, but I'd rather see a new Red Dead game after GTA V.
    I'd also like to see the next Noire game set in Chicago or somewhere other than LA.

  • Shikasama #2 3 months ago

    Absolutely wouldn't buy a sequel on day one. Not until I had read user opinion and played a demo. LA Noire was the biggest dissapointment of the year.

    And no, not because I wanted or expected it to be GTA but because the investigations, interrogations, story line, sidequests, exploration, branches and script had been good ideas that had started off well but being implemented in a balls stupid way.

    I've never played a game that was so 'almost good' in so many respects and fell short in all of them.
    Edited by Shikasama at 13/02/12 @ 17:36

  • linksdad #3 3 months ago

    I thoroughly enjoyed Noire but a sequel would have to add a lot more to the formula to be worth making without being a retread.
    I would like to see a lot more crime scene/clue interaction and a reworking of the interview dynamics.

  • neilka #4 3 months ago

    Brendan McNamara is registering on Kickstarter as we speak.

  • Acquiescence #5 3 months ago

    I'd lap up a sequel to L.A. Noire. After Max Payne 3 is finished, that's what I'd like to see Rockstar work on next.

  • Harmonica #6 3 months ago

    If the future for LA Noire holds any of the terrible linear faux-action crap seen in the finale of the first game, then I'll pass.

    Aside from that and the jumbled up gameplay content (homicide desk being the best, and first out the gate, leaving the rest of the game rather dull), I think it was a pretty great game.

    The detective-em-up sequences were very enjoyable, and I appreciated the way the narrative was presented, writing, voice acting, newspaper excerpts, etc, even if we'd seen it dozens of times before in films.
    Edited by Harmonica at 13/02/12 @ 17:48

  • BaggyAnt #7 3 months ago

    New York City - 1970's make it so please!

  • Al_Swearengen #8 3 months ago

    I didn't find LA Noire anywhere near as compelling as I'd hoped and consequently I only finished about 30% of the game. I would prefer all of Rockstar's energies were focused on finishing GTA V and then a sequel to Red Dead Redemption.
    Actually, to be honest the RDR sequel would be what I'd wish to play next. The world they created there was so much fun.
    Edited by Al_Swearengen at 13/02/12 @ 18:01

  • Adgeman #9 3 months ago

    I started another game of Red Dead this weekend and took a look at the jobs page to see what Rockstar San Diego are doing at the moment. There aren't any significant hints but it's definitely an open world game looking at their vacancies. One can only hope.

  • juliankennedy23 #10 3 months ago

    La Noire was good on paper but in execution I found it tedious. Between the beautifully rendered but lifeless open world to the often flawed interrogations and one of the worst leading characters in recent memory.

    It worries me that they would make a similar game without fixing the on rails narrative and dead world that haunted the first one.

  • smoothpete #11 3 months ago

    I know that many people didn't like it, and I can understand the complaints, but I loved it to bits. I'd be very pleased if they decided to make a sequel. 70s New York would be perfect.

  • Rubios #12 3 months ago

    I must be the only one that loved LA Noire...

    After GTA4 I would prefer them focusing on other series like RDR and "Noire" instead, I just couldn't finish it unlike GTA3/VC/SA.

  • God_Octo #13 3 months ago

    Yay! I'm obviously in the minority that found LA Noire to be fun, enjoyable and brilliantly atmospheric. It wasn't perfect- by a long way- but it tried something new, and I have faith that Rockstar could iron out all the kinks and bring us a brilliant sequel. I really liked that was nice to play as a cop, instead of a robber, and I thought that the game mechanics, although quite basic, were really fun. Plus, the atmosphere! I loved the whole Noir theme.

    But yeah, LA Noire was a bit pants at times, but it tried so hard and it tried something new and exciting that I really think a Rockstar-developed sequel could actually be amazing. I would love them have a go.

  • barchetta #14 3 months ago

    70s London. Done Sweeney style.

  • Snake_2011 #15 3 months ago

    hope they do it, will benefit with there sandbox style no one can do sandbox games like Rockstar legends imo.
    Edited by Snake_2011 at 13/02/12 @ 20:55

  • bionic_v2 #16 3 months ago

    I cant see me ever buying a R* game again. They all seem so alike, dressed in different clothing.

    ..and no, I did not buy LA Noire for all the above. I did come very close, when Block Buster Video had it up for £10
    Edited by bionic_v2 at 13/02/12 @ 18:47

  • pcgamerx #17 3 months ago

    we need RDR for PC .

  • metallicorphan #18 3 months ago

    I wouldn't mind a L.A.Noire sequel,but would rather have Red Dead 2(or 3 whatever)and Bully 2 first

  • spekkeh #19 3 months ago

    Even though it was severely flawed, LA Noire was one of the most interesting games this generation, and for all the tedium I do remember it fondly. I would definitely buy it, although given Rockstar's track record, I fear that they won't show enough restraint in the shooting bits.
    Edited by spekkeh at 13/02/12 @ 19:07

  • TazerFan #20 3 months ago

    Uh, just use that cool tech on a different IP, please.

  • MrE26 #21 3 months ago

    I reckon any sequel will end up following the typical Rockstar template, in the same way RDR did. It'd be a better game for it too, LA Noire's major shortcoming was the completely barren gameworld outside of the main cases.

  • cowell #22 3 months ago

    There was a lot of wow factor loaded into the front end of LA Noire including a lot of familiar faces from Mad Men. It had me hooked but certainly started to drag on from about half way in. I finished it including the various DLC cases but it started to feel like a chore in the end. You could also get the feeling that the game was cut and shut. Seemed to be a few plot holes and bits chopped out.

    There's definitely a lot to be lifted from the first LA Noire game that could be implemented into a sequel or in other Rockstar games. I'm interested to see what they do with the IP.

  • bad09 #23 3 months ago

    I'd rather they made RDR PC than another game I'll ignore :(

  • evarofzentral #24 3 months ago

    Hopefully Rockstar Leeds will get it.

  • ajaxpliskin #25 3 months ago

    It's almost certain that Rockstar San Diego are working on a new Red Dead considering the success of the last one. Hopefully that will make it for this generation.

    It seems to me, to do a new LA Noire would require some kind of hook, some kind of advance over the facial recognition they did with the last one and I should imagine that could take some time to come up with.

    They'd also have to find a studio to put it together.

  • Baleoce #26 3 months ago

    Keep the I.P alive for sure. But the story-writing needs to be a lot better next time around to meet the ambition of the game itself. I understand why it ended the way it did, but the way it was written in the build-up was very poorly done imo.

    Also a more complex interrogation and clue finding mechanic would be nice. In the first game, once you got used to interrogation, the rest of the game was just a case of going through the usual patterns.

    Also make the world feel real. Very rarely was there any reason to wonder away from the case checkpoints. Considering how polished the game looked visually, it ultimately came across as underwhelming and two-dimensional in terms of exploration/content. That being said I still had a lot of fun with it and managed to immerse myself in the game at times. Would definitely look forward to a sequel.

  • SolidSCB #27 3 months ago

    I'd probably give a second one a chance with a few improvements. As long as they make sure 'Doubt' doesn't actually mean 'outright accuse suspect of being a murdering rapist paedophile' this time.

  • Farzlepot #28 3 months ago

    @SolidSCB Yeah, what was up with that? It's hard to decide on an option during a delicate interrogation when you have no idea what any of the options are likely to do!

  • osh #29 3 months ago

    I hope the sequel is set somewhere other than LA or New York - God knows we've had enough of 'NYPD!' and 'LAPD!'

  • goldbug #30 3 months ago

    LA Noire 2 would be fine. But this time a little more of the LA and a little less of the Noire. The original was great on surface detail but lacked interactivity.

  • bikmate #31 3 months ago

    I'm just angry at them (and myself for being stupid) because of the DRM they put on the PC version. I should have read the description on Steam...think before you act.

  • digitalash #32 3 months ago

    @neilka I imagine there's a long line of employees who'd like to kick HIM.

  • threemoh #33 3 months ago

    @osh Preferably somewhere with a three-word name, just for the longer acronym.

  • matty_matt_mattmatt #34 3 months ago

    i want to see Red Dead Retribution before L.A Noire

  • Ryze #35 3 months ago

    More important, would be to take ELEMENTS of LA Noire, and use them in other games.

    Motionscan. If Rockstar is able to use this tech, it should be employed in EVERYTHING, to allow actors' facial expressions to make their way into all of their games.

    I personally think that we could have an LA Noire-esque game that uses Motionscan and Kinect to create an experience more akin to Mass Effects conversations and interactions.

    I'd like to see this, and it sounds like a huge project, but one that Rockstar could pull off. It's their 'thing', I'd say.

  • Stijntsje #36 3 months ago

    Interesting that this announcement pops up now, as I finally found the time to start playing it last weekend. And I have to agree with most posters here: Noire is a flawed game. There's not enough opportunity - or incentive - to go and explore the city and the gameplay is both too clunky and too simple. The average crime scene investigation consists of walking around banging into things until you feel that tell-tale vibration and can pick up a clue. And the interrogations are much too limited in their scope.

    However, having now played halfway through it, I must admit that when they do get it right they really get it bang on target. The atmospheric detail is chilling, the characters feel genuine and whoever had the idea to pick the era of the lone woman murders in L.A. deserves a pat on the back. The story is really drawing me in. I'd definitely like some more of that and if they could graft it onto the standard R* template I'd be a very happy camper.

  • KimboDice #37 3 months ago

    yeah and what about Manhunt 3?

  • ant72 #38 3 months ago

    I enjoyed LA Noire, even though it was fundamentally floored. A bigger issue for me was how dirty I felt playing it, after I discovered how badly people who'd worked on the game were treated.

    I know that sort of stuff goes on, but it's not for me.

  • anthonypappa #39 3 months ago

    70's cop game. with moustaches, decent radio, decent cars, action and subject beatings.

  • madgerald Verified Studio Head of PR & Marketing, Colossal Games LTD #40 3 months ago

    As others have said, the 70s would be a perfect fit...

    A bit of Starsky and Hutch, Kojak, Columbo, The Streets of San Francisco, Hawaii Five-O

    And my personal favourite.. Quincy M.E.

  • MattRobson #41 3 months ago

    LA Noire wasn’t without its flaws BUT I really enjoyed it, I believe I may be in the minority but I would happily stump up the RRP on release day for another instalment... however there are things I would like to be added

    Allow us to 'book' the wrong guy for any case which would then spawn further cases for example a serial killer - you book the wrong bloke and all's well then randomly after a time period the killing's begin again interrupting whatever you are doing which you can chose to persure or not.

    'Dynamic' cases, a bit like Skyrim’s endless ' miscellaneous' quests where a something small you stumble upon can become its own narrative you can chose to peruse or not without being 'side missions' that’s the wrong term for this kind of game.

    Interrogation... needs vast improvement, disagreeing with someone doesn’t mean to bark their head off and accuse them of the most heinous crime, also use the facial tech for more than shifty eyes.

    I could go on but essentially give me a more open world, let ME be the guy i want to be not just watch a story unfold but be part of the story.

  • Po1ymorph #42 3 months ago

    With all the hype I was set to buy L.A Noir, but then played a bit round at a mate's. The interrogation's were great fun but I just found the looking for clues sections utterly tedious.

  • spekkeh #43 3 months ago

    @Stijntsje
    I'd definitely like some more of that and if they could graft it onto the standard R* template I'd be a very happy camper.
    imo LA Noire's one saving grace was that it did not follow the standard template.

  • overcorpse #44 3 months ago

    Just gives us some news on Agent R*.

  • smirny #45 3 months ago

    I'd be very happy with more Red Dead or Noire after GTAV...

  • Harmonica #46 3 months ago

    @MattRobson I hoped the original would be more dynamic as you ask for, but honestly I just think this sort of gameplay is beyond Rockstar's spec, or overarching company design document. Essentially you either get a massively polished, vast world with glitzy soundtrack and voice acting, or they really go for some kind of extremely freeform sandbox game. I don't think it's beyond their capacity but they just seem purely interested in telling their conventional linear stories about morality (even if they do have ridiculously high production values).

    They've never done it and I doubt they ever will, sadly (have been wishing for the same kind of thing within the GTA universe ever since GTA 2). Any serious dynamic gameplay is the sort of the thing we have to look to the indie scene to do properly.

  • ROCK-NYC #47 3 months ago

    I thought Rockstar only published LA Moore?

  • philreid #48 3 months ago

    Nah, just let it be. It was alright, but in my opinion LA Noire doesn't warrant a sequel.

    The detective idea is a good one, but I think the execution of it was faulty in LA Noire.

    Personally rather than the tired NY/LA settings I'd love to see a new detective game, set in London in the 70s!

  • Totza #49 3 months ago

    @Al_Swearengen Definitely RDR and GTA is where its at

  • Francisnf #50 3 months ago

    @barchetta how cool would that be, fingers, toes and eyes crossed!

  • jebus #51 3 months ago

    @smoothpete Followed by 60s London