Boiler explodes at Rockstar offices in Edinburgh
23 January 2026
The constant delays and postponements of the launch of GTA VI have become a meme on themselves in the world of gaming and social media. You can bet that any exceptional, weird or spectacular thing that happens nowadays will be followed by something like “We’ve got X happening before GTA VI”. We’ve even got a recent example from the world of esports in the UK, where some fans of football club Hull City dubbed the opening of the brand-new Federation of Sport Gaming Hub as “We’ve got Thibaut Courtois opening a Game Hub in Hull before GTA VI”.
And recently Rockstar, the studio behind the hugely popular GTA franchise, grabbed headlines again for the wrong reasons, though this time they could not do much about it. In the early morning of Monday, January 19th, the Edinburgh (Scotland) fire department had to race to Rockstar’s Edinburgh offices because of a fire. The street was taped off and reports suggest an explosion in a boiler room was the cause, and Rockstar was quick to confirm that the fire did not affect the development of GTA VI.
What happened?
The official distress call came in at 05:02 AM on January 19th, reporting an explosion and a considerable fire at the offices of Rockstar in Edinburgh. In response, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) sent seven vehicles to the location, where police had already taped off the street. The fire was apparently caused by an explosion in one of the office’s boiler rooms, but is still to be confirmed by an official source. After about four hours, the fire crews announced that the situation had been brought under control and they subsequently left the area.
“Operations Control mobilised three fire appliances and specialist resources to the scene, where firefighters worked to secure structural damage at a commercial building”, said a spokesperson from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service after the fire at Rockstar Edinburgh, “There were no reported casualties, and crews left the scene at 9:21 am.”
Development of GTA VI not affected
The first news of GTA VI was revealed all the way back in 2022, but the development highly anticipated game has suffered various delays since then. One of those delays came in May of last year, when Rockstar informed its community (and the wider world) that the launch of GTA VI had been postponed until May 2026. Not long after that, the launch date was postponed once more, to November 19th, 2026. The developer defended its choice by stating that they needed more time to deliver the kind of quality that players and fans of the GTA franchise have come to expect over the years.
“Many thanks to those that reached out with concern, and also to the police and fire crews who were on scene quickly to assess the situation”, says a spokesperson for Rockstar Games, “Please know that everyone is well and our studio remains open and operational […] The development [of GTA VI] was not affected by the explosion.”